Meant To Live
by Lostinthemindscape
Summary: Peter Pan once said that one girl is worth twenty boys. Nibs is worth the whole bunch put together. Gender fluid Nibs. AU
1. Chapter 1: Valiance

**AN: Nibs is gender fluid in this story. It will go from the time they are a child to season 3 of the show. The entire thing is one huge AU, because I -like most Fans- refuse to believe that Peter is indeed Rumple's father. So in this story Peter is Rumple's much younger brother. This is my first time writing fanfiction so I hope you all like it!**

 **~Luna**

* * *

Chapter 1

I slowed my pace to a light jog, trying to catch up to my best friend who was a whole year older than me. Which meant his legs were a lot longer than my stumpy little ones. There were seldom clearings in the Enchanted Forest, yet we had found one not too far from our village. We were playing Ogre Wars, with him being the nasty ogre and me the valiant knight. My sword was his dagger, his club a fallen tree branch. It was dangerous play, but being children, we had no sense of the word danger.

I hacked off a twig from the branch. "Ha!" I shouted, trying to lower my voice to one I thought a knight would use. "What ever shall you do now, nasty beast?!"

He just roared before tackling me, turning our ogre war into one of tickling. I struggled before tickling him back, in that one spot between his too prominent ribs. Practically dying of laughter, he rolled off of me. It wasn't long before just a look dissolved the two of us into a flurry of giggles. I sat up in the field, picking dandelions and trying to blow off all of the wish seeds. He propped himself up on his elbows, hair sticking out in all directions as most ten year old boys' did.

"What do you wanna play now?" I asked, fitting a few purple flowers into the beginnings of a crown.

"I dunno," he stated. "We could play Knights and Dragons. I'll be the knight and you can be the princess since you're a girl."

I dropped my crown, tackling him again. "Am not! Say it! Say 'Nibs you are not a girl'!"

He just laughed. "But you're only only a boy on some days. What are you?"

I sat back on his legs, thinking hard for a moment. "I'm both and none at all." I said after thinking it through.

"Fine, you can be the dragon. And I'll still be the knight." He agreed.

I got off of him and roared, raising my arms above my head to be pretend wings. He grabbed his dagger and used it as a sword again, both of us shouting insults at the other. We played for what seemed to be hours, but was probably only ten minutes until Peter's older brother came to get him. I didn't like Rumple, there was something off about the way he cowered at anything. Something that could get Peter killed and almost had at some points.

I watched the two leave and continued to run in the field until I heard my mother calling for me.

The village was a short distance, but still long enough to make one winded if they had run all the way there. Which is what I had done. I sat on one of the chairs at our table, breathing hard and red faced. My mother sat bustling around the kitchen, trying to throw together dinner.

"Hi Mama." I said. "Peter and I played all day today."

She nodded in return. "Nessa, dear, I told you I would rather you not hang out with Peter. His brother's wife has been seen around pirates no less you are not to repeat that." She added hastily.

"Mama I'm not a girl today." I corrected her. "I'm a boy, I'm Nibs today."

She turned around, big wooden spoon in hand. "You're a girl, Nessa. That what you were born."

"No I'm not. I'm a boy today. I was a girl last week." I argued, trying to make her understand. Peter had gotten it so easily, why couldn't she?

"To bed with you. I will have none of this nonsense in my house." She stated, pointing with the spoon to my attic bedroom. I dutifully followed her orders, for if father found out the punishment would be much worse.

My room wasn't much, a small bed and dresser lined one wall with a chair on the other one. On the chair sat a big stuffed rabbit Peter had won for me a few years ago when a traveling circus wagon had rolled into town. Smiling fondly, I undressed into my nightgown, blowing out all the candles in the room and waited by the open window. It was our signal, when one of us was in trouble the other would enter through the window.

Peter didn't keep me waiting long, but he had tears in his eyes. I thought it was from the wind, but the way his lip quivered showed me that was not the case.

"Why are you crying?" I asked.

"We're to move," he said. "They want to go to the city by the castle... I'm to be an apprentice. They want to make me grow up."

I hugged him, feeling the girl nature kick in. "You can run away. Tomorrow afternoon. We'll do it together."

He shook his head. "Nibs we're leaving in the morning. I'm to grow up. I don't want to grow up."

I nodded, holding him at arm's length. "Then let's play pretend." I suggested, knowing it was his favorite game. "We don't live here, we have our own island. There's no time and no mean brothers or bad mothers."

"Neverland," he supplied.

For the rest of the night, we played that Neverland was real. My tented sheets became our treehouse, the rabbit being the ferocious Neverbeast raiding our camp. My parents downstairs were pirates, ones we feared to wake. The roof was our tree canopy and the other houses we could see we're the Picanny tribe of braves. We played until dawn, when the two of us retired to our separate beds.

In the morning, I woke up to find the dagger lying on the floor. I panicked, grabbing the blade and rushing downstairs. After a quick "Hello Mama", I hurried out the door. There was a wagon leaving the village, and I could just barely see Peter in the back, trying to fight back tears.

"I'LL WAIT!" I shouted, clutching the dagger. "I'll wait to grow up with you."


	2. Chapter 2: Reconnect

**AN: Hi lovelies! Chapter Two is up. No Neverland yet, next chapter I promise. Just some cute Peter/Nibs fluff. And as of this chapter, this story is set about 2-3 years before Hook and his brother visit Neverland and about 3-4 years before Baelfire is born.**

 **Also thanks to KerryResidentofEarth for following. Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 2

I didn't see Peter again for seven more years, three days after I turned sixteen.

My parents had convinced me to go to the city near the castle to help sell the pocket watches my father made. They figured being two years away from adulthood was old enough to make the thirty mile journey on foot through the darkest part of the forest. I didn't object much, I would be with people who didn't know me where it would be so much easier to be lost.

The road was unforgiving but as a boy it was undoubtably safer than if I had been female on the journey. The inns were few and far between, but the few I stopped at were jolly and filled with laughter. All sorts of people stopped at the inns, each with their own story to tell. Stories had always been my favorite since I was little. There was the giant slayer, the ones who had caught an eye of the Dark One Zoso and lived to tell the tale and some told of a land without color who would always be discouraged by the ones who said there was a land with too much color.

At last, I had arrived at the castle. It was like stepping into another land. Everyone was just so busy, as if none of their lives directly influenced anyone else's. It terrified me, the utter repulsion they had towards the homeless and the children running free without cares or parents. The closest inn had a very nice landlady who remarked that she was always glad to see "strapping young boys making their way in the world, yessir." I didn't bother to correct her.

She had given me her best room after all.

The room was just like home, not much but still cozy. There was the large bed, dresser, and chair but that's where the similarities stopped with my little attic. It was a great deal bigger, and even had wallpaper. There was an imported bamboo changing screen along with a small stool with a pitcher, towel, and wash basin on it. After general unpacking and organizing of papers for a stall, I changed, choosing the more comfortable light green vest and skirt I had brought. Once things were in a decent sense of order, I made my way out into the street to find my stall. It was in between a bakery and across from a blacksmith, which brought a decent amount of noise and mouth watering smells. The baker was kind, bit I felt that there was something off about blacksmith.

Two days after my arrival, I believed I had found Peter. The blacksmith had several boys in as his apprentices, ranging from nine to seventeen. The oldest was a boy with unruly brown hair and light green eyes. You could see lean muscles beneath his shirt and when he took off his shirt (which was most of the time) shiny scar tissue littered most of the skin on his arms and back. What tipped me off was the burn along his right shoulder, from when he accidentally fell into the cooking fire at my house when he was 6.

Three days later, I walked into the shop, waiting to get a new shipment my father had ordered. To pass the time, I watched the boys work. The littlest one was stoking the fire while the others hammered metal into the mold.

I didn't have to wait long until Peter came up to me, wiping his hands on a rag. "Well, what do you want?"

I had to stop myself from laughing. He had the exact same demeanor as when we were children. Although it saddened me that he didn't recognize me, he eventually would if I had anything to say about it. This gained me a quizzical but I eventually conveyed that there was a shipment waiting for me.

"Wait here," he ordered before running off, shouting at a boy named Slightly.

I busied myself with observing the shop. Smoke billowed in all directions, combined with disembodied shouts of the boys and clanging of metal on metal. Every minute or so, one of the boys get into a shouting match with the other. After a few unrepeatable words, Peter would intervene, shouting even nastier words. I smiled when I heard him use several insults I had taught him the night before our world were ripped apart.

Peter arrived with my order wrapped in a bundle of cloth and a logbook. "Here you are. What name should I put on the log?"

"Nibs Haven." I replied, laughing as his eyes went comically wide after he had only written the first two letters.

"Nibs, the valiant ogre slayer?" He asked with a smile playing on the corner of his lips.

I nodded, glad that he had remembered our little game. "And I must be addressing Peter, the nasty ogre."

He let out a barking laugh, one I hadn't heard in years. He then yelled that he was taking his break, and the twins were in charge. We walked out hand in hand, him insisting that he carried the package. We stopped at a tavern he knew of, where two orders of ale were placed.

"I thought I'd never see you again," I admitted once we sat at a clear table in the back corner.

Peter smiled. "I always had a plan to come get you, it just took longer than expected. But-"

"Peter Pan never fails," we finished together, breaking off into laughter.

I reached to my side and undid the dagger, handing it back to him. "I knew I could give it back to you someday, but I never found the right-"

A barmaid came with our drinks, setting them on the table. She lingered just a little too long next to Peter, shirt undone just past the acceptable limit and fingers drifting over his shoulder. Her breasts looked too high up on her chest, like she had just fixed her corset to be set a few inches above her actual waist. He didn't notice her advances, but I did. At once I became self conscious of my own bound breasts and grubby boy clothes.

"Why are you here?" He asked after taking a long sip.

"Watch business," I replied. "Father wanted me to take over, so I was sent to sell here." I paused before adding. "How come you never came back?"

"I wanted to, I truly did," he answered as the barmaid came round again.

I was absolutely disgusted with her. Yeah Peter was a pretty boy, but he was my pretty boy, even if he didn't know it yet. My skin crawled as she almost clung to him, asking if we needed anything else. She briefly flashed a glance in my direction, but only at my chest. My shirt had come loose, revealing the bindings. She smiled at me and her eyes seemed to convey that she knew my secret. I just rolled my eyes. The barmaid looked like high maintenance and the type to be clean at all times. And if Peter hated anything more than girls, it was high maintenance ones. Even though if be around a lot longer than her, I still wanted to rip her heart out right then and there.

After she left, he cleared his throat and continued. "Rumple made good on the apprentice threat. Ten years from the day we got here. I'll be in a job and grown before I ever had a chance to enjoy childhood. I'll be grown in five months, Nibs."

I nodded. We weren't supposed to grow up with out he other, but it seems neither had actually made good on that particular promise. Of course we couldn't stop the flow of time, but it was always a nice thought to have.

"None of the other boys at the shop had wanted to either," Peter continued, startling me out of my reverie. "Tootles has already made up his mind that he never wanted to grow past eleven. The boy's only eight and so much more determined than we were at that age." He chuckled.

I thought about telling him about the land I had heard of on my journey. "There's a place where time doesn't pass."

He looked up, intrigued. "Where?"

"We need a magic bean. But it's called Neverland. Children of different realms go there in their dreams, it's a land fueled by belief. We could take the boys at the shop as well."

Peter nodded throughout all of this. I could see the wheels in his head turning, as of working out all the potential steps of this plan. He always thought things through, but it was when he forgot a step when things went haywire. Like the time we planned to steal Rumple's sword but had forgotten the mushrooms needed to make his brother fall asleep.

"We'll leave tomorrow," he exclaimed, nearly jumping from his seat. "I'll gather the boys after we're certain this island is safe and you can meet me at the shop right before dawn. It's perfect."

I stood up with him and in his elation, he lifted me by my waist in a spin. I giggled, completely forgetting one very important part of the plan.

"Peter, we don't have a magic bean." I reminded him.

Smirking, he lifted a necklace from under his shirt. In a tiny vial, a bean no longer than my nail sat suspended, fat and glowing. "Yes we do. And even if we didn't, I'd be able to find one. After all-"

"Peter Pan never fails," I finished for him, rolling my eyes.

He smirked again at this. The plan was decided, we'd leave as soon as possible. The bar tab was paid and the two of us ran out the door laughing. We were children again, and about to be children forevermore. He walked me back to the inn, where we stopped outside the entrance. Just talking, saying nothing of importance really.

"And just how will we fuel the belief of the island?" I asked, almost rhetorically.

"I've got my truest believer right here," he laughed. "Anyone that believes we will meet again after seven years can keep one tiny island in existence."

With that he bade me goodnight, disappearing into the gloom of the night. My heart was beating in my ears and just being with him had made me feel giddy. Was this love? I dearly hoped it was. Even though Peter was oblivious and dense and more thick skilled than an ogre at times, he still was my best friend. I suppose my happiness was written all over my face as I entered the inn, because the landlady stopped me.

"First love?" She asked as I sat at the bar.

"No, but hopefully the one that lasts," I replied, drawing nonsense in the water rings left by mugs.

"True love?" She asked after a while, eyeing my with an odd glance.

I was taken aback. "I really wouldn't know."

She pulled out a vial of glittery green dust from her grubby apron pocket. The chubby lady who I had known for a week was giving me a bottle of pixie dust. I couldn't believe it myself as she placed it in my grubby palm. "I found my happiness long ago, hopefully it will help you find yours."

I thanked her profusely, before heading up to my room, which had a perfect view of the blacksmith. Praying hard I opened the window and released the dust, which was flung out into the air in a glittery mess. It writhed this way and that, before filing in through the door of the smithy and then up to a room where light cast a Peter shaped shadow on the curtains. The shadow fumbled and then opened the window, letting the green dust our into the night air, but most seemed to rest upon him. Shrugging, he turned off the light and then vanished from sight.

I flung myself backwards onto the bed, elated at the prospect. Peter was my true love and now I was certain I would follow him to the ends of the earth. Or even just the ends of this realm. After all, Neverland waited for us.


	3. Chapter 3: Welcome to Neverland

**AN: Hi again lovelies! Neverland actually makes a appearance and many important things are happening! There will be some major timeline deviation in the future, just a warning. And if Peter has seemed a little OOC in the past two chapters that will be all cleared up in Chapters Three and Four.**

 **Special thanks to ZeldaHildaSabrina for following! Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 3

That morning, I was giddy, I was ready and packed in record time, bringing only a small backpack full of necessities. I was a boy that day, deciding that being make was easier for traveling. And for the umpteenth time I thanked the maker that a childhood injury had left me unable to menstruate. Just one more thing I wouldn't have to worry about.

Peter was waiting outside the inn and my heart beat faster at the sight of him. He was my true love and I his, even if he had no idea yet. He would eventually but once we reached Neverland, I had an eternity to get there. Locking hands the two of us ran out of the city. The forest stretched all around us, but it was strangely quiet, as if it knew something grand was going to happen. The entire world seemed to hold a collective breath as Peter took the bean out of its vial and threw it upon the ground. At first it sat there, but with a gust of air the bean turned into a large, spinning portal. The one that would take us exactly where we needed to go.

"To Neverland?" He asked, smirk playing upon his lips.

"Neverland," I whispered in agreement and with that we jumped into the portal.

The roar of the portal was deafening and seemed to last forever. For a brief moment I felt my hand slipping from his and I began to panic. What if we lost each other? What only one of us landed in Neverland and the other in an even stranger land? Despite my panic, I felt Peter grab onto both my hands, the constant pressure reminding me that he was there and it was silly to think that he would leave me.

We were dumped onto a beach on an island. Instead of sand, the shore was made of rocks and bits of smoothed over glass, complete with a jungle about twenty feet from where I lay. It was then I realized Peter was nowhere near me.

"Peter?! Peter!" I shouted, popping up to a sitting position.

A second of silence followed before I picked up an anguished "Nibs!" coming from the tree line. I grabbed a heavy tree branch and ran towards the shouting.

The jungle was unforgiving. The brush thick and tree canopy letting in absolutely no light. It was like a human had never stepped foot in the jungle and it wanted to keep it that way. I found Peter under a tree with glowing flowers. That wasn't even the strangest thing. Peter's shadow was being ripped out by another. And I thought the Enchanted Forest was weird.

Raising my stick up high, I charged the shadow, but the club went right through it. I nearly gasped but in its confusion, I stood between him and Peter. No way was I going to let this thing kill my best friend.

"Call off your pet," it sneered. It didn't have a face, but it looked angered.

"They're not-" Peter began but placed a hand on my shoulder. "Nibs it's alright. We were working out a little trade."

I lowered my club, but still kept a wary eye on the shadow. I didn't like it. Neverland was our home now, and anyone that tried to kick us out would have to deal with my fury.

The shadow crossed it's arms, and began again in its gravelly voice, "You know the rest of the details. A child cannot have a child, no adults. Do you still want to make a deal?"

"Yes," Peter breathed out, stepping towards the shadow.

It began to pull at his back, making him double over in pain. I ran to help, but was restrained by two other shadows. I couldn't do anything but watch Peter's shadow be ripped from his body, my best friend crumpling in a heap. The shadow that spoke consumed Peter's and then flew into his body. I still didn't see any breathing.

Anguished, I ran to his side. The two guards had disappeared, leaving me with a lifeless body and a screaming heart. I rolled him onto his back, where he coughed up, life flowing back into his body. There was blood on his lips, but he wiped it off with his shirt sleeve.

"Peter Pan!" I shouted, smacking his chest. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"Owww," he groaned. I helped him sit up, because I'm nice like that. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you actually cared."

"What? Are you stupid?" I lied. "I just didn't want to be on a strange island with murderous shadows!"

"Mm-hm," he hummed and I sensed sarcasm in his voice.

I waited before asking, "What... What did you do? With the shadow?"

"You're looking at the new King of Neverland," he stated proudly, standing up like he just hadn't died and been revived. "I'll show you the island."

I got up as well, wondering how much of Peter that shadow had changed. He seemed normal, as he walked in front of me, pointing out minute things. But his gait was strange. It was longer and each leg seemed to hang in the air for seconds before returning to the earth.

"... And of course we'll have to watch out for the Picannys, they're the local tribe. And there are pirates," he added with a grin. Peter then picked me up bridal style, making me blush. "It's all ours. King and Queen of Neverland. We can do whatever we want here."

I blushed even deeper at the "Queen of Neverland ". He shook his head suddenly, before smiling at me. "Sorry, King and Royal?"

I smiled, my arms wrapping around his neck for more support. "Queen is perfectly fine."

"Good," he laughed. "I only say I'm King because I've got magic."

"You liar," I accused with a smile on my face.

He just smirked. Before I knew it, green magic clouds surrounded his legs and we left the ground. I clung tighter to Peter, trying to scramble up him like a cat up a tree. I did not take kindly to flying without warning or any teaching or even any magic of my own to keep me from falling to my doom. The bastard just laughed, clearly enjoying this.

"Too high?" The idiot asked.

I fixed him with a death glare. "Put me down. Now."

He immediately complied. I had perfected the glare since we were children, but even then I had a certain way of getting things done with that glare. I personalized for each person. For Peter it was "Do whatever I say or you will wake up with a colony of fire ants in your bed".

I was happy to be on the ground. He tugged me along through the jungle, my threat seemingly forgotten. Again he pointed out things, like the smoke of the Picannys' campfire and the tracks of the Neverbeast. Surely the shadow had endowed him with knowledge of this place and the fact that there was a Neverbeast, an animal we had created, had made me suspicious. Of course the island was fueled on belief and where children went in their dreams but why were we the only two children smart enough to find it. Had the shadow been waiting for Peter and I? Or had there been some other reason?

I followed him into the clearing, where the shadow detached from his body. They shared a few words I couldn't hear and then the shadow flew off.

"What was that about?" I asked.

Peter looked startled but calmed as I approached. "It's safer for the shadow to transport the boys. So it will go get them while we set up camp."

I nodded, a little disappointed that we wouldn't be getting the boys ourselves. "I see..."

"Oh don't be sad!" He said, taking my hands in his. "You can name us. Every band needs a proper name and ours shall be..."

"The Lost Boys," I said. "We've all lost our families. Why not?"

"It's absolutely perfect!" He declared.

I smiled as he began to describe what he wanted the camp to look like. We began to set it up and eventually fell into a comfortable silence. As I gathered stones for a fire pit, I smiled to myself. What could possibly be better than this?


	4. Chapter 4: Flying Lessons

**AN: Just a cute little fluff chapter because I don't know if I'm gonna be able to post anymore this weekend, so here it is! No plot, just fluff :D Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 4

"Peter, no!"

"It's fun and you have to learn sometime."

"No! Not like this!"

Peter had me in his arms. And under normal circumstances, I would be fine with that. Except that right now, we were five hundred feet off the ground. And Peter had no intentions of putting me down. Neverland was a tiny, green crescent against the sparkling Never Sea. Like most humans, I immensely enjoyed being on the ground. Peter was obviously not human as it had only been a month and his favorite place was up in the air. I clung to him like my life depended on it, and it did.

"Let go, you've already gotten a healthy dose of pixie dust," he drawled.

I shook my head, holding even tighter around his neck.

"You give me no choice," and with that he let go of me and I slipped towards the ground.

My stomach had taken up and new home in my throat and my ears were pounding. I swear I could hear my blood run through my veins or perhaps that was just the deafening roar of the wind. As Neverland got closer and closer, I covered my face with my arms, that way they'd have some way to identify the body. But the ground never came.

Instead I had stopped a foot from a very fluffy looking cloud. I reached out to touch it, and discovered it felt just like a cold pillow. Interesting. And furthermore, I was floating. Or flying. I righted myself, before doing a few lazy somersaults in the air. Huh. The bastard was right.

"Fun isn't it?" He asked, startling me.

"You jerk!" I screamed, turning around to hit him on the chest. He turned to do the same, before stopping.

"I can't hit you back!" He whined, gesturing to my chest, which was unbound today. "You're a girl today and I can't hit a girl."

"I guess you'll just have to catch me," I smiled and then took off, flying fast among the clouds.

We started a race of sorts, hiding behind clouds and feigning turns. The most fun part had to be when in his hurry to catch me, Peter went straight through a cloud and came out soaking wet. The worst was discovering that high winds were not beneficial to long hair, which was a flub on my part.

"Caught you," he whispered from behind, hands wrapping around my middle.

We waited there, enjoying the moment with the clouds. He was still soaking wet and my hair had practically turned into dreadlocks, but still we just stayed, him enveloped around me. I leaned my head back on his shoulder. My face turned upwards towards his. My heart was pounding and I wasn't sure if it was from the altitude or just being this close to him. He turned his down to mine, and our lips inched closer until they were almost touching.

And he pulled away. Bastard. Peter let go of me and we stood there awkwardly. "The boys will wonder..." He began.

"We should go," I agreed. We both flew off fairly quickly, both keen to forget the episode on the clouds.


	5. Chapter 5: Tinkerbell

**AN: Apparently I was able to update. In this chapter we see the continued influence of the shadow on Peter and are introduced to a few beloved characters. Pretty Blue Eyes is Hook, if you can't guess. Also I just finished reading the original Peter Pan, so I'm going to try to include as much of that in here.**

 **Thanks to sirensoundwave for following! Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Ch 5: Tinkerbell

The Lost Boys were an odd group. We had a lot of fun actually, but that's beside the point. We consisted of a group of kids from eight to seventeen. Tootles was the youngest and had already declared me as his older brother/sister, depending on the day. The twins, who both went by Twin, were ten. Peter and I didn't really know what they were and neither did anyone else, so we let them do their own thing. Cubby and Slightly were both twelve, and hated each other's guts. I found it funny, but Peter said it was distracting. That was fine though, since I gave them pardon on most things.

We made our home in the clearing. Each one of our boys knew how to fight and with Peter and I leading the way, there was nothing we couldn't conquer. Even the tribe knew us as a force to be reckoned with as we had driven out some king's navy two years ago. I had only met two of them briefly, but they were trying to steal Dreamshade, as Peter told me. That was a weapon we couldn't allow to leave Neverland, there were too many adults that could exploit its power. One had "cursed" us, the one with pretty blue eyes. We didn't really care though, we didn't have any curses to worry about now that time stood still for us.

Things were changing though. Peter was harder to control and apparently he had sexual needs that had to be satisfied. The two of us shared a treehouse and I could hear him leaving when he thought I was asleep. It hurt me. I longed to scream at him to come to me, that the two of us were bound together. That didn't stop him from going to Tigerlily. Still I waited, he couldn't outrun true love, no one could.

One day, he didn't come back until later that day, when I was teaching Slightly a new game of my own invention. I watched Peter limp into camp, clutching his side. It was bleeding terribly and once again I was on nurse duty. I sat him down next to the fire on a log, strips of wet cloth laying out. The younger ones all held their breath as I removed his shirt to find the damage. The torn flesh was wet with blood and dirt. The strokes were tiny and looked like someone had hacked at his side with sharpened stick.

"Arrowhead," he explained. I nodded, grabbing a ball of cloth and dabbed at the wound. He tuned his head away, face contorted in pain.

"We'll fix it,"I assured, wrapping the wound. "This, the relations between us and the tribe... We have to." What I feared that if we didn't, the chief would send his warriors to wipe us out.

"I don't think it can be fixed," he replied through clenched teeth.

I finished wrapping the wound and tucked in the stray ends of bandage. "How? Just, I thought the chief knew about the... Arrangement."

He grabbed onto my arm. "Don't pursue it." He warned, while tightening his grip.

"Peter..." I began. His eyes flashed a darker green, almost black.

"I told you not to pursue it."

"Peter you're hurting me."

He let go of my arm, looking in disgust at his own hand. I rubbed my own wrist, there would probably be a bruise there tomorrow morning. I looked back at him, his eyes returning to their normal color. Instead of the hard fury I had seen not one minute ago, his eyes were full of concern and self-loathing. He got up and walked into the jungle. I followed him.

"Peter! We need to talk about this," I shouted after him. "It's the shadow isn't it? I knew you should have never-"

"Leave me alone," he shouted, blending in with the foliage. "I don't want to hurt you again."

I tried to follow him, but lost him among the trees. Saddened, I cut through camp in the direction of the only proper beach on Neverland. One struggle with several vines later, I arrived at my destination, taking off my boots and digging my toes into the sand. I'd probably be finding sand beetles up my leggings tonight, but I honestly didn't care about anything other than the sun on my face and the gentle lapping of the waves.

As my luck would have it, a small knife was placed up against my throat, and a presence up against my back.

"Who are you?" The voice hissed. A girl? There were no girls on Neverland outside of the Picsnny tribe.

I rolled my eyes though, her grip on the knife had shifted into a more loose one. Before she even knew what was happening, I lifted my arm up and head back, hitting her in the jaw and keeping her armed hand well away from my neck. A simple punch to her forearm was enough to open her hand, letting the knife fall into my own open palm. Pulling out my own dagger, I threatened the woman from my current standing position, to her's, which was now with her back up against the sand. She seemed to be about twenty-four and had her fair hair scraped back into a bun. Her clothes, now tattered, were bright green and carried the sparkles known to fairies. Huh. A fairy on Neverland.

"Aren't you a little old to be on Neverland?" I asked, my dagger still dangerously close to her neck.

She grinned. "Aren't you a little feminine to be a Lost Boy?"

I liked her. I helped the ex fairy up, giving her the knife back. She took it and slipped in back into a little holder on her belt. Everything about her had been cute, but on Neverland that was just a liability.

"You're gonna need a better knife," I commented. "I'm Nibs by the way."

"Tinkerbell," she replied. "I plan to trade with the tribe near here, I have certain skill sets that could be useful."

I sighed. "They're a little angry right now. My camp could probably help and we don't ask for much."

Tinkerbell nodded. "I'll consider it."

We both shared a look of mutual understanding and then she ran off into the jungle. I hoped she would survive, I liked her a lot. Someone that wasn't angry with me would be a nice change.

I pulled my boots on but picked up a loud cacophony that sounded like off-key singing. I turned towards the sound, getting closer. I ducked behind a bush, only slightly terrified but more curious than anything.

The singing was coming from a dinghy rowing it's way to shore. I though it was more navy soldiers, something the Lost Boys could dispatch. Instead, they all had ratag clothing on and were led by a man in black leather and a hook for a hand. My eyes grew wide as they landed on the beach, drawing cutlasses and the leader barking orders. Pirates had found their way to Neverland.


	6. Chapter 6: Lion of the Coliseum

**AN: Hey lovelies! Just another little chapter, where we get a little glimpse of the Neverland we all know in the show. Please let me know what you think, I absolutely love hearing from you!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 6: Lion of the Coliseum

From my bush I observed the crew. There weren't too many of them, seventeen at the most. But they were a great deal bigger than any of us and better armed than the braves.

"Oh, a pirate's life is a wonderful life,

They never bury you're bones,

For when it's all over a jolly sea rover

Drops in on his friend, Davey Jones

Oh, my good friend, Davey Jones!"

They sang, the end of each line punctuated by a cheer and them raising the cutlasses. Two of the pirates, the black leather clad one and a short, chubby man with a red hat broke off from the rest of the group, heading straight into the jungle. I followed these two, using magic to fly across the branches as not to be seen.

"We're going to find that demon and make him squeal," the leader threatened, and I could only assume he was talking about Peter. "I need his knowledge for my revenge."

"The rumors about this boy," the chubby one said in a low hushed tone. "He's killed four men just by looking at them and his boys are ruthless. Hook, we should turn back."

I had to stifle my giggles. Apparently the rumors we had been spreading worked. We didn't look like much, in fact we weren't much. It was always good to have a reputation though. I flew to another branch to get a closer look.

"Mr Smee," Hook fixed the man with an evil glare. "This island is the only place where I can get my revenge, a gang of toddlers be damned."

"But Cap'n," Smee looked terrified again. I could already tell it would be fun to mess with him. "This demon, he's done unspeakable things. And he kidnapped the Haven's daughter. He's probably using her for some sick reason."

Deciding enough was enough, I dropped from the canopy, holding my knife against Mr Smee's throat. "Actually I prefer the pronoun 'they'," I laughed, pointing my dagger at Hook. "But since you're new, I'll let it slide."

The two were absolutely stunned. Threatening adults was fun, they never expect anything out of children, especially when they think they're so much better than you with a sword.

"You're one of Pan's devils aren't you?" Hook hissed.

I took a step back, daggers still raised. If they thought I was evil, I better put on a good show. "Devil... I haven't heard that one in a while. Monster, yes. But devil... That one's new."

"Take us to your leader," Smee tried. I believe he wanted to sound commanding, but it came out as just a little squeak.

I laughed again. "Now why would I do that? Because Pan left me to roam on the island, alone?" I flew back to a tree, perching on a branch. "We can take care of ourselves. It's not as hard as it looks."

I looked over their faces. Hook's was hard and resolute and Smee's was full of fear. Hook could possibly be the only threat. Maybe a few others I had seen back on the beach, but they weren't my problem at that moment.

"I'll give you a warning. Stay off of our island and don't bother us," I said, dropping back down and heading in the direction of Echo Caves.

I could practically hear the smirk in Hook's voice. "Or what will you do, mate?"

I stopped and smiled at them. "We'll kill you." I said as sweetly as possible before disappearing into the thicket.

• • •

It took longer to make it back to camp than usual. Peter's foul mood had opened up a fissure about a mile from the clearing, where poisonous snakes poured out of the crack in the Earth. I truly was grateful for the magic of this island, but having it be tied to emotions was possibly the worst mistake of the shadow's immortal life. Especially tying those emotions to one of a half-grown teenage boy.

I made it back to camp in one piece, angered and tired. Thankfully Peter had gotten over his little hissy fit and was playing a game with everyone else. It was the crossbow game where we tried to shoot apples off of each other's heads. It was one I enjoyed immensely, but Was not in the mood for one. I stood at the edge of the clearing, watching Slightly shoot an apple directly above Peter's head. Cheering, Peter held Slightly's hand up high, receiving whoops from the others. As I walked over, he caught sight of me. "I know that look," he said almost to himself.

He dragged me into the jungle only a little ways away from camp. "What happened now?"

"Well there's a fairy on the island for starters," I began. He nodded and I guessed he already knew about that. "And now we have pirates. Great job of scaring that navy man away, by the way. Because he's back and wants revenge."

Peter shook his head. "How many?"

"Seventeen, twenty at the most," I answered.

I could see the wheels in Peter's head turning and he grabbed my hand and led me back to the clearing. The boys all looked up when we entered. They sat around the fire, five pairs of eyes trained upon us.

"There are pirates on the island," Peter announced.

The boys whispered among each other and I could see Slightly pulling out his crossbow. Good boy.

"How are we gonna get rid of them?" Cubby asked, club at the ready.

"We don't have enough right now," Peter said. "But they intend to take over our island. The army of children we get here at night won't be enough."

I nodded, finally understanding his plan. "We're going to get more boys. We'll send the shadow out as well."

The boys cheered, but were quieted by Peter. "Soon we'll have enough for a whole army!" Cheers. "We'll be the most unstoppable force on Neverland!" We all cheered at this. We already were pretty powerful, but with potentially older boys we could be unstoppable.

"What do you say boys?" He roared, gaining yet another whoop of triumph. "Let's play!"

Peter tightened his grip on my hand and the two of us flew off of Neverland. Hands firmly clasped, flying through the air, I thought this is why I was meant to live. For perfect moments like this. We were powerful; just the two of us, crossing the realms.


	7. Chapter 7: Felix

**AN: Really early update, but yay! I've been updating everyday now but once my school gets out, I might have time to update even more or less, it honestly depends on if I get a job. Anyways, a little filler chapter, but we meet everyone's favorite Lost Boy! Tell me what you think about it.** **Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 7: Felix

Peter and I fell into a sort of rhythm once we reached the place we had once called home. I would hang around back alleys, appealing to any stray boys I could, spreading rumors of something big to happen at midnight. Peter would set up the bonfire and play his pipes, the ones the shadow had given to him for this exact purpose. They boys would then trickle in. We only picked the most genuine, the ones that could actually hear the Melody of the Lost. On our fourth unsuccessful night, we met Felix.

Felix was an interesting soul. He was the first person we ran into that day and that was because he was dead set on mugging us. His plans didn't work out so well.

Peter and I had just stolen a loaf of bread from a bakery and the two of us were walking down an alleyway, laughing and pelting each other with bread crumbs. We hadn't eaten in two days, because on Neverland food is more of a luxury rather than a necessity and we had forgotten this fact of the real world. Felix had accosted us after we made a wrong turn. A piece of metal was grasped in his hand, he was brandishing it as a club. Peter and I shared a look and I knew that he wanted the boy.

"I do admit, you have a very nice fighting stance," he commented.

I gave him a once over. He was taller than the two of us, and probably had the lean muscles that most lanky guys did. His face had a crescent shaped scar along one side, making his already long face seem longer. I hesitantly put a hand to my own. We had the exact same face shape. And even though I could barely see his hair underneath his hood, I had a feeling it would be the same shade as mine.

Felix just stared at us, brows furrowed into a hard line. "Just give me your money."

"Look at that, so demanding. I want one," Peter said to me.

I laughed. "Not until he gets some better manners." I turned to Felix, placing my hand on his weapon and gently lowering it. For a really odd reason, I didn't want to hurt him. "Isn't that so much easier? Now I'm Nibs and this is Peter. You are?"

"Felix," he breathed.

Peter stepped up to me. "Now Felix, how would you like to never grow up?"

Felix eventually agreed and we didn't even need to set up a bonfire that night. We had found our Lost Boy in this town. So the three of us travelled to Peter and I's families' town, the one we had decided to leave so long ago. Peter didn't want to go near the borders, so Felix and I were left to do the dirty work.

"How did you meet?" He finally asked, as I was leading him to my old house.

"We grew up together here," I replied. "He left though. But then we met back up and away to Neverland."

Felix nodded, before roughly pulling me to the side of an alley. I tried to protest, but he put a hand to my chest as a sign to stay put. As he glanced into the street, a troop of knights in all black passed us, only a few bothering to glare in our direction. They rounded a corner and it was then Felix dropped his guard and walked back onto the street.

"Who did those men belong to?" I asked, once people had stopped giving us glares.

"Cora's soldiers. She's the reigning queen. Has been since I left here," he answered.

"Felix... Did you live in this town, before?" He didn't answer me. So I tried another question, assuming his answer to the first one was yes. "Were your parents watch makers?"

He looked up, stunned. "How did you know?"

"Were your parents names' Edith and George Haven?" I asked, completely ignoring his previous question.

"Yes, wait-" he began, barely even making intelligible sounds.

"That we're siblings? Yeah. Might not be, but we do look a lot alike. And we do have parents with the same names," I pointed out.

It made sense, Mother would have just made the cutoff date, just in time to have Felix. He didn't respond much to this, but playfully clocked me on the head.

"I guess this means I can be mean to you now, huh?" He asked as we walked back to Peter at the town line. It was almost sunset and we needed to set everything up.

I laughed. "Don't overdo it. I hit back just as hard."

"Wouldn't be fun if you didn't," he replied.

We walked for a while, the two of us enjoying terrorizing the odd chicken coming across our path. "Felix? We should probably keep this from Peter."

Felix nodded. If we told him, there was a very big chance that he would leave my brother here. Peter was never good at sharing and he might just finally lose it if he had to share me. Also I wanted Felix to come home with me. I had such a good life in Neverland, I was certain he would as well.

"Better not keep Pan waiting," he drawled, pulling me towards the bonfire.


	8. Chapter 8: Fires and Nightmares

**AN: Hello again lovelies! Here's a nice and long chapter. Sorry if it's a little dialogue heavy, I had to copy out one of the scenes from the actual show. Tell me what you think, what I can do better, or just whatever!**

 **Thank you to RedHotChiliSteppers2008 for following. Thanks to lulalulale for following and favoriting. Finally, a huge thank you to Amelia-bella1 for following, favoriting, and reviewing! Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 8: Fires and Nightmares

After Felix and I got the fire going (Peter refused to help because it would be a waste of magic according to him) we all waited for midnight. The sun had set and the three of us were waiting by the fire, warming our toes. Peter and I had traded our usual Neverland garb for the clothes we had made the journey in all those years ago. Peter had taken my cloak- without asking, mind you- and was using it to play up his already dramatic outfit. I rather liked that cloak, but I knew I could just imagine another one when we got home when Peter would lose it.

Around 11, the three of us stood up, sensing a change in the atmosphere. Something big was going to happen tonight, something outside of our recruitment session. The air was crackling with danger and the three of us shared an excited look. Things were going to change for us.

I flew over towards the village when Peter began to play the pipes. Even from this far of a distance I could hear the Melody of the Lost. I yearned to go back, to join my best friend and my brother in reverie. But I had a job to do first.

I stood at the entryway to the village watching as dozens of boys climbed out of their windows and onto the street. They could hear the haunting tune as well and I smiled as they followed the notes like bloodhounds. Some were laughing, others pushing their friends to get closer to the sound. One that was addressed as Rufio seemed to be the leader of the boys in this town. He was big and muscular with skin as dark as the trees on Neverland. He would be an excellent Lost Boy.

"Hello?! Why are none of you listening to me?" I heard a voice call and immediately flew over to the origin.

There was a girl about my age, pulling at the boys' nightclothes and shouting in their ears. Nothing worked and it was painfully obvious that she couldn't hear the Melody.

I floated down behind her, whispering "Boo."

She shrieked before turning round and discovering me. "Thank heavens, another girl. All of these knuckleheads refuse to listen to me and they're staggering around like blind bats! Hello? Are you even listening to-"

Growing bored of her tirade, I dug into my pocket and blew a handful of deadly poppy dust on her face. She spluttered before falling forward into my arms. This was standard procedure, almost every night. There would be a sister or a mother that would get suspicious and follow the boys, causing a ruckus and trying to wake up the entire town. I dragged the girl by her feet, depositing the now sleeping beauty in front of a door. They'd find her in the morning.

I heard a giggle behind me and immediately snapped my head up. Sitting on a windowsill was a man. I peered closer, making out almost scaly skin. The new Dark One had come to watch us. I had heard he was especially interested in our rumors and general mystery, but had never thought he would come. He wasn't interfering, but all the same I flew back to the fire. Once I located Peter I pulled him aside, motioning at Felix to keep the drumbeat going.

"Just a little busy at the moment, Nibs," he stated, trying to get away from me.

I put a hand on his chest to get his attention. It worked. "Peter you don't understand there's-"

I never finished for there was the new Dark One shouting "Bae" at our dancing boys. I looked in his direction and recognized the face beneath the almost glittering skin. Peter's brother, Rumplestiltskin was the new Dark One. Of course he was a good twenty years older, but that didn't really matter when you had near immortality and immeasurable power. I turned back at Peter, but he was already pulling in the hood of the cloak, some devious but dramatic plan being the cause for his ever growing smirk. He disappeared amount the throng, leaving Felix to join me in the back. I shared my new knowledge with him and he tightened his grip on the piece of metal. The two of us would protect just the concept of Neverland with out lives and Felix hasn't even been there yet.

Rumple caught up to Peter, snarling as he broke the pan flute. "Where's my son, Piper?"

"Is that what they're calling me?" Peter asked, throwing off the hood. "We both know who I really am. Been a long time, laddie. Glad you could make the show."

Felix slapped me on the arm because I was laughing too hard at Rumple's stunned expression. I felt like I was watching a play unfold, with Rumple and Peter both vying for the lead role. No wonder these two didn't get along, they both had to be the biggest drama queen in the room!

"You surprised to see me, Rumple? Well I don't blame you, I'm a little surprised myself," Peter drawled, childish confidence exuding from every fiber of his being. "Look who's all grown up and become the Dark One, good for you. "

"What're you doing here?" The Dark one asked. Honestly I had thought Rumple would be more assertive. I guess some things never change.

"Oh it's lonely in Neverland. All I have are the children who come in their dreams and those two," he pointed to me and Felix. It didn't escape me that he was convo entry leaving out the younger boys. "They can't stay, the boys I take back with me will."

"You're here for my son."

"Not exactly, he's just the icing on the cake.

"It's gonna take a lot more than a magic pipe to take my son."

Peter laughed. "The only thing magic about this pipe is that only certain boys can hear it. Boys who feel unloved. Boys who feel lost. I guess that's why you can hear it, Rumple, isn't it?"

"Don't pretend to know me; you don't. Not anymore," he growled.

"Oh I think I do. Beneath all that power, you're nothing but a lonely, lost boy!" Peter stopped, looking at us almost proudly. "That what we're called, you know. 'The Lost Boys'. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"You can call them whatever you like. Baelfire will not be a part of it," Rumple completely ignored most of the tirade.

"Oh he's already a part of it. The question is, what are you willing to do to get him back?" An evil smile crawled onto Peter's face and I began to pull Felix in his direction. We needed to be there for damage control.

"I'm gonna make you regret ever asking that question," Oooh Rumple was threatening. That made a nice change.

"They're going to start throwing punches, I know those looks," I whispered as we pulled up behind Peter, standing like two very scrawny bodyguards.

Felix just stared at me. "Your point? They both have magic."

"Peter's magic doesn't work if he's far from Neverland, the most we can do is fly." I whispered. There was need for Rumple to know that we were mostly powerless right now.

"Oh, I understand you're upset. Most parent's worse fear is that their child will be taken away from them. But that's not yours, is it Rumple? No, you're not afraid Baelfire will be taken from you; you're afraid he'll leave. After all, being abandoned is what you're good at, isn't it? Everyone you've ever known has left, haven't they? Like Bae's mother, Milah, not to mention your own father. But you're rather good at doing the abandoning, aren't you? After all, leaving your ten year old brother with a strange man could hardly be considered taking care of the child. Why should Baelfire be any different?" Peter spat, no doubt a good deal of personal experience thrown into that.

Rumole didn't want to believe it. "You're wrong."

"Am I? Well let's find out, shall we?" Peter glanced around the glade, arms out in a 'Come and get me' gesture. "You ask Baelfire if he wants to come to Neverland with me or stay here with you."

"Peter," I hiss. "An angry Dark One is not what we need right now."

"Oh let him be angry," he laughed. "You're not going to do anything about it, are you Rumple?"

Rumple glanced at me, as if he finally recognized my presence. "Listen to your pet. Although, she seems to be reigning in your own leash."

I trembled with rage, pulling out the dagger and holding it to his throat, while Felix readied the bar. "Nibs doesn't like to be called she," he said in his monotone way. Still, I was glad he was sticking up for me.

"Felix, Nibs," Peter warned and the two of us backed down, reluctantly sheathing our weapons. I still kept a hand on the hilt of my dagger. "If he wants to stay, I'll leave and never return. Deal?"

"I don't need to make a deal with you," he said, his false bravado apparent in his cracking voice.

"But why wouldn't you? If you're so sure he'll stay." Peter followed his brother, smirking. "You don't even recognize him, do you, Rumple?"

"How could I when he's wearing a mask?" Rumple spat.

Peter begins some speech about how Baelfire is finally happy when I tap Felix on the shoulder.

"I bet you desert for a week that Rumple will cheat with magic. Influence Bae or something," I whisper, again watching the entire event as one would a play.

"Add a silver piece and it's a deal," Felix whispers back.

The two vanished in a pillar of smoke as Felix groaned. I smiled at him, to where he just fished a slimy silver piece out if his pocket and placed it in my hand. I placed it in the pouch with the deadly poppy dust and relax.

"You'll regret taking my deal!" Peter shouted before rejoining us, walking away in a huff. "Grab the one named Rufio, we're going home."

"Why?" I ask. "There's still about half of the boys making their way from the village..."

Peter fixes me with a death glare. "We take him and leave now."

Stunned, I obliged. He had never threatened me before, at least not in a serious manner. I walked over to Felix and began to help him shovel dirt over the fire because while we might have been magical, fire starting delinquents, we weren't totally ignorant of the possibility of a fire spreading.

Once everyone was flying their way towards Neverland, things began to relax. I was doing tricks while Felix looked as if he was trying to remember the laws of gravity and if it was possible to defy them. Felix and Rufio had made fast friends, Rufio's rather boisterous personality balancing out Felix's quieter one. The two were using each other as a support system, both looking horrified at the fact that they were not safe on the ground. I dropped like a stone, hearing the two gasp before reclining in a laying down position, waving up at the boys. They scoffed.

I noticed Peter was way ahead of the rest of us and I shot up to his position. "What happened tonight?"

"Rumple happened, or did you happen to miss all of that," he said, not looking at me.

I rolled my eyes. "I know what happened with him, but why with Baelfire? Why do you need him."

At first Peter didn't answer so I had thought he was ignoring me. I went to return to the other when he finally spoke. "I saw a Seer while you were out with Felix. Our belief is not enough to keep Neverland going, we need someone called the Truest Believer to save the island. Bae is that person."

Oh. Well then. I simply raised my eyebrows but understood why he said all those things. It was to try to get Baelfire to come with us. From what Peter said, it sounded like our island was dying. And with a dying island, we need all the belief we can possibly get.

I nodded. "So how can we get him to come to Neverland?"

Peter smiled at me, one of smiles that promises a highly detailed, highly exciting plan. "We find a girl named Wendy Darling."


	9. Chapter 9: The Dreaded Wendy-Bird

**AN: Back again, this time with more celebrations. And if you couldn't tell by the title, Wendy makes an appearance. Now I am by no means a Wendy fan and neither is Nibs. But I know some of you are excited about Bae and his role and I promise you that will all come into play very soon.**

 **Thanks to Amelia-bella1 for reviewing again! Happy reading!**

Chapter 9: The Dreaded Wendy-Bird

"And she's utterly useless! And has an imposed curfew rule that we all have to be in bed by seven! Seven! Thankfully Peter had been making the days longer but sometimes he forgets to change it from night to day. But she still has Slightly's pocket watch..." Nibs complained as they lifted a board onto Tinkerbell's house.

Tink laughed at her friend's plight. She hated Wendy too of course, but couldn't imagine dealing with her everyday like Nibs did. Of course, the self proclaimed "Lost Boy Mother" had stopped by Tink's house one too many times asking for pixie dust and then had the gall to ask her to activate. Even village idiots knew not to ask an ex-fairy anything about magic unless you were given explicit permission.

"Well what time is it now?" Tink asked, hammering a stubborn nail into place.

Nibs checked their pocket watch. "About six thirty. You know she didn't even want me to go over here?"

Tink smiled. "And you disobeyed because...?"

"She's not my mother. And she's younger than me as well. Looks-wise and actual age, I'm at least twenty years older than her. Maybe more, time travels between realms so differently," Nibs said thoughtfully, laying another board down.

Peter's latest tantrum (Wendy induced, mind you) had caused a lightning storm, causing a tree to fall over onto Tink's old house. So a few Pincanny braves and Nibs were helping her rebuild. The braves had worked hard, up until they decided they were hungry and went into the forest. They never came back out and Tink hoped they were alright. Nibs was a hard worker, but also couldn't keep focused on one task, a trait most of the Lost Boys shared.

"And she says she forbids us to go on any more pirate raids. That's practically the reason we went to get more Lost Boys, to outnumber the pirates. Even though we only picked up two more..." Nibs flew over to the other side of the almost finished house.

Tink snorted. "And do you follow her orders?"

"Only Felix, me, Rufio, and Peter think she's insane, but Peter's off being mopey," Nibs pointed to the sky, at the perpetual clouds that had surrounded Neverland since Wendy's arrival. "And the rest of us just don't listen to her. Why should we? She's just a silly little girl playing pretend. A vast, twisted version of pretend."

Of course Nibs hated Wendy. In fact, Tink was certain nearly all of the hated Wendy. But still, she giggled at the absurdity of it all. Here were kids that wanted to be young forever, but already most had rejected a defining figure of childhood: a mother. At least it kept most of them out of trouble, Tink thought. They were wild, but a civilized mother might bring back the shreds of humanity that they possessed.

Nibs looked up from her board, listening for a moment before leaving her post to head towards the entrance of the jungle, as if responding to a call only they could hear.

"I'm sorry Tink, that was the pan flute, I can't ignore it," Nibs huffed out before disappearing into the expanse of trees. "I'll come back tomorrow and help!"

Tink just shook her head, pounding another nail into the wall. Nibs' loyalty to Peter surpassed any of the others, except possibly their brother. But Tinkerbell feared that it would cause the teen more trouble than it was worth. That it possibly get them killed one day.

• • •

As I was building with Tink, a sharp, high pitched note hit my ears. Peter had taught the call to all of us, it was a sign that camp was in danger and immediate aid was required. I dropped everything and ran, shouting a hurried explanation to the fairy and a promise to come back tomorrow.

Branches tore at my arms, leaves getting stuck in my wild hair that flew behind me. I didn't have enough pixie dust to fly all the way back, so I interlaced my strides with longer jumps. I needed to get back to camp. My brain conjured terrible things as I ran through the forest. The Lost Boys lying around the fire, all lifeless and bloodied, a horde of Neverbeats tearing the camp apart, Peter mangled and barely breathing. The mental images only made me run faster.

As I arrived at camp, nothing seemed to be out of the normal. Wendy was sitting by the fire staring at some socks and the rest of the boys were just milling around. Not laughing, not playing games. Just stood there with blank faces. While this wasn't normal, it was a great deal better than what I expected to see.

Wendy caught sight of me. "Nibs! Do you know what time it is? You were supposed to be back in camp an hour ago. You've picked up our leader's nasty habits-"

She couldn't finish, because I had marched up to her and held the girl by the collar of her pretty little nightgown. "Where is Peter?" I growled.

"Another nasty habit-" she began, but trailed off as I tightened my grip. "He went with Felix and Rufio! Oh Nibs it's just terrible, Hook captured Tigerlily and they were all on Marauder's Rock-"

I let her go and dropped to the floor. Marauder's Rock becomes covered with water every time the tide came in, the most recent one being just about fifteen minutes ago. If they were tied down, there was no possible way the four had gotten free and pixie dust doesn't work when wet. They were surely dead. A friend, a brother, and a true love gone in the blink of an eye.

I didn't stay sad for long when I heard a familiar voice shout "Boys! Come meet our new friends!"

The remaining Lost Boys turned around to see Peter, soaking wet but still alive, standing at the edge of our clearing. Behind him was Tigerlily, Felix, Rufio, and about fifty Picanny braves. While they all looked dead-beat tired, Peter had a triumphant air about him.

Tigerlily stepped forward. "We have decided to reinstate the treaty between our tribe and your... Tribe."

With shouts of joy, a huge bonfire was lit. Warriors and Lost Boys danced together. Even the littler boys seemed to be having fun, teaching some of the younger Indians how to shoot a crossbow. Wendy turned up her nose at all of it, "humph"-ing her way to her little house.

Peter saddled up to me. "That was clever of me, wasn't it?"

I rolled my eyes, before hitting him on the arm. "Don't scare me like that. I actually thought you might be dead," I admitted.

Peter smirked. "Have you found your heart, Nibs?"

"No-yes, I've always had one!" I tried to answer his question, but my brain wouldn't cooperate.

He laughed, only causing me more exasperation. "Oh, really now? Where was that heart when we were killing the Neverbeasts? Or for loving. There has to be someone on the island you like. I won't judge if it's Tinkerbell-"

"Shut up and dance with me," I playfully growled, dragging him to where most of the dancing seemed to be happening. Peter was a bastard and said things to get on my nerves, but he was my bastard. One I would unfortunately go to the ends of the earth for.

The Picannys did have good music. I'll give them that. Unlike the raw, uncut beat we got from our own celebrations, it was strangely ordered. Each note had a place to fit and the dancers seemed to know exactly when to move. I felt Peter's body behind mine and smiled. We hadn't lived like this since before Neverland. I liked though.

The party went on into the early hours of the night and only ended when the chief declared that the little ones had to go to bed. We bade our new allies goodbye, and settled down around the much smaller fire. I laid out with my back against a log, Peter and Felix beside me. Everyone else stretched out, too tired to even care what Wendy would think. I drifted off to sleep with my head of Peter's shoulder, not even noticing the pirates creeping up towards us, cutlasses gleaming in the pale moonlight.


	10. Chapter 10: Delivery Boy

**AN: This chapter was supposed to be a little shorter... Well that obviously didn't happen. Nibs has a mind of their own. Anyway, enjoy the beginning of everyone's slow descent into the clutches of darkness! Also I reworked a few details in the previous chapters to say that in Chapter 8, they only brought Rufio back to the island. Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 10: Delivery Boy

I woke up bound, my back against someone else's. I couldn't move much, in addition to have my back tied to the other's, my hands were behind my back and my feet were wrapped together. Thankfully I was still at camp, but no one else was there. I looked over the fire, catching sight of Tink, who was face down on the ground, not moving. What the hell had happened? I began to struggle, trying to see if they had gotten rid of my knife and dagger.

"Wha- Nibs?!" I hear Peter call and sigh in relief. He still doesn't move.

"Peter, oh thank god. What happened? Where are the others?" I ask, pulling my dagger out of the back of my waistband.

"They must have gotten us when we were sleeping. Cowards," he spat. "I got hit with squid ink, should wear off in about a minute."

I sighed, moving the dagger to the side to cut the ropes binding us. Even if Peter could move soon, his magic would be nothing compared to what it was normally. We'd need all the help we could get if we were going to storm the Jolly Roger. And Tink... I refused to believe that she might be dead.

"Plan of attack?" I asked, now working on the bindings around my hands, wincing every time I accidentally nicked myself.

I could feel his fury without even having to look at him. "Rescue Wendy, then the boys," he said. "Kill the pirates."

I gasped as my entire upper body was free and it only took a moment to free my feet. I turned around to work on Peter's. "Don't you think we should get Felix or Rufio first? Plus Wendy is kind of useless, the pirates are probably making her see them pockets," I joked.

Peter glared at me. "I need to deliver her back to London in one piece."

I rolled my eyes, snapping his binds. "Fine. It's not like she's like Tink and can actually- Tink!"

I ran over to my friend, terrified for her life. It was extremely hard to kill fairies, but it wasn't impossible. I turned her over and listened on her chest. Still breathing. I ripped off a length of cloth off the bottom of my shirt and bandaged Tink's head, which seemed to be the worst injury. I stood up, hopefully she'd be alright.

Peter came up behind me. The squid ink must have stopped working, but he was still stiff and moved awkwardly. I grabbed his hand and the two of us took to the sky above the jungle. Neverland stretched out below us, the pirate ship an ugly dot in the natural harbor. We dived down, narrowly missing the rigging. Peter hooked one arm around the edge of the ship and dragged us to the outside where we watched the scene on the deck above.

All of the Lost Boys were tied up around the main mast, with Wendy being led toward the plank. Hook was focussed on her, cajoling the girl to give up the secret of flight and Peter's powers. She was tight-lipped. She knew who was the most dangerous group on the island.

"Lass, he kidnapped you," Hook sounded all sweet, but was threatening the child with a sword. Catch more flies with poisoned honey, I guessed.

Wendy shook her head. "I wanted to go. The shadow just took me to where I wanted to go."

I turned to Peter and saw a mischievous glint in his eyes. This was going to be an all-out battle, I could already tell. And it was going to be either us or the pirates. Peter or Hook this time.

I opened my mouth, but he clamped a hand over it and pointed towards the sails. Nodding, I flew up there, landing on the crow's nest. The pirate on lookout was knocked out easily enough. As a little fun, I took down their colors. Ripping the flag to shreds, I focused on untying the ropes, nearly all the air immediately going out of the sails. I glanced onto the deck where the pirates had pushed Wendy off the plank. I hoped she drowned.

Sadly, I caught sight of Peter grabbing the girl and depositing her in the crow's nest. Damn it.

I floated down the main mast as Peter stood on the other side of the boat, leaning on the rigging. "I must say," I heard him address the crowd. "I'm quite proud, no really. I've never seen a bigger gathering of cowards. You've all outdone yourselves, bravo indeed."

"Pan," Hook snarled. I hurriedly got out my dagger and began working on the ropes holding the boys captive, shushing them when needed.

Peter began to walk along the rigging. "I do say, the biggest coward here isn't a coward at all. He's a cold, slimy codfish."

I giggled at that. And one and a two- the next slash freed all the Lost Boys and I led them to the cabin. The pirates still all had their backs to us as we armed ourselves. Most of the others picked up their confiscated weapons. Although, I picked up a rather nice, jewel encrusted sword.

"What do you say boys?! Shall we gut this codfish?" Peter shouted, dagger in the air. "Let's play!"

We gave out a horrid, feral battle cry, charging the pirates. Slightly had taken up a position by the wheel, shooting arrows into unsuspecting pirates. Tootles would shoot some with his slingshot, and then they would stumble right into a loaded swing from Rufio's bat. Peter, Felix, and I found ourselves back to back, each engaged in battle with a pirate.

"Took you long enough," Felix commented.

I paired the pirate's sword, before running him through. "Oh you know, we had things to do, people to spy on." I kicked the now dead pirate out of the way, immediately clashing swords with another.

"Would have been earlier if Nibs had taken so long with the ropes." Peter huffed.

"Says the one who was covered in squid ink!" I retorted, using a spare moment to land a jab in the pirate's side.

"Less talking, more killing," Felix huffed and we proceeded to do just that.

The battle wasn't very long, it ended when Rufio had locked up the seven pirates still left alive in the brig and we had cornered Hook, Peter lazily threatening the man. He looked terrified and had good reason to be. When you're surrounded by Neverland's deadliest, I believe you have every right to look like a frightened rabbit. It was cute in a comical kind of way.

"What do you have to say for yourself, codfish?" Peter smirked, tracing the outline of Hook's vest with the tip of his sword.

Felix just rolled his eyes. "Finish him off already."

"Be patient," Peter chided. "I'm trying to decide the best way. Stabbing is far too simple."

I grabbed onto Peter's arm. "What if, we kept him as a delivery boy? There's a lot of things we can't carry back from the Enchanted Forest."

"And why would I do that?" Peter drawled and I could already see him getting bored."

"Because he can also give us information that the shadow can't get," I reasoned.

Peter sighed dramatically and stuck the sword in his belt. "Sounds rather boring when you say it, but I suppose you're right." He turned to Hook. "You become our eyes and ears and in exchange I won't kill you. Hell, I'll even help you with your petty revenge. Deal?"

Hook just glared. Peter laughed and crouched down, dagger pointed at the captain' snare neck. "Did I also mention you can't leave the island unless I say so?"

Hook seemed to be warring with himself before nodding. "Aye, I accept."

Peter smirked and got back up, walking away with Felix. He gave a wave to the captain before flying up to rescue Wendy from the rigging she had gotten caught in. Useless girl.

I turned to Hook. "You owe me," I whisper. "I didn't just do this out of the goodness of my heart. You're my ticket to saving Peter."

"And why would you want to do that?" He said.

"Nibs!" I heard Peter shout. "What's taking so long? Lights out!"

Sighing, I grab a thick piece piece of railing that had come loose in the fighting. I swung it at Hook's head, the man goes limp. "Night-night Captain."

I join the others on the deck of the ship, everyone breathing heavy but smiling. Wendy had her arms thrown around Peter and was hanging on him like a lovesick maid. I just shook my head, but was lifted up onto Rufio's shoulders as Peter was taken out of Wendy's grasp and lifted onto Felix's. The two paraded us around, hailing us as the heroes of Neverland. And for a minute, I believed them. That we hadn't just killed twelve people, that it was like the old days where Peter and I had just arrived in Neverland with the promise of eternal childhood spread out before us.


	11. Chapter 11: Goodbye Forever

**AN: Two updates in one night, whaaaattt? And any Wendy fans out there, I'm sorry I didn't intend for Nibs to be this hateful, it just kind of happened? I personally didn't like Wendy, never have liked her in most incarnations but Nibs has a mind of their own.**

 **For following, thanks to Musibelle and Sing97. Oh and thanks to Amelia-bella1 for reviewing again! You are truly awesome my friend. Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 11: Goodbye Forever

It had only been three days since since the battle with the pirates and I had reached the limits of my patience with both Peter and Wendy. The night of battle when we got back, I had to sleep in Felix's treehouse because when I approached my own, I was kicked out by Peter saying that Wendy needed somewhere comfortable for once. I had hoped Peter planned to kill her in her sleep. I found her awake, happy, and a little scatter brained the next morning. That girl had spread discontent in the camp like rats with a plague.

On the third morning, she was yelling about something again. I assumed it was about the mermaids trying to drown her. I made a mental note to personally thank the mermaids and give them some pointers on how to succeed next time they felt a little murderous. However I heard my name and decided to eavesdrop.

"Peter Pan!" She shouted in her shrill child's voice. "I have just about had it with you! You ought to show yourself."

"Yes, I ought to. Doesn't mean I want to," Peter had retorted, staying high up in a tree.

"What kind of treatment is that to a lady? Kidnapping me and then not allowing me to leave this cursed island?!" She had asked.

I watched the two of them return insults, each more harsh than the last. They must have had a fight and Wendy must have been trying to garner support from the younger Lost Boys, who were most certainly more compassionate than any of us older members. Oh well. Back to breakfast.

I tried to ignore them. Really I did. But it's a little hard to ignore the pair when one of them had changed the day to night and was creating a full-blown snowstorm. Jungles, snow, and children without thick boots do not mix at all. So instead of being logical and waiting for them to calm down, I decided to try my luck by reasoning with Peter.

"A little daylight would be nice?" I asked, drawing his attention from the Wendy-bird.

"I'm busy," he replied.

"Daylight or no breakfast."

"We don't need to eat."

"You also don't need to keep breathing, however it would be nice."

"Are you threatening me, Nibs?"

"Depends on how you take it. Now my original demand still-"

"STOP IT!" Wendy shouted in anguish. "You never listen! Only when she-"

"They," I corrected with a frown.

Wendy glared at me before continuing, "Whatever. You only listen when they say something, even if it's something as mediocre as daylight! Oh I want to go home!"

"Then go!" Peter shouted, bringing a new gust of icy wind.

"I've already talked to the boys about it," Wendy crossed her arms. "Slightly, Cubby, Tootles, and the Twins all want to come with me. But we can't leave until you say we can."

"I'll personally escort you," he said through gritted teeth, storming off to probably go slap the boys upside the head.

She looked at me. "I don't suppose he actually ever listens to you. You're just another silly little girl like me."

"Person, and I think he does. After all, I got it to stop snowing," I smirked, pointing a finger at the now cloudless, sunny blue sky.

• • •

Felix and Rufio had decided to stay back at camp on Neverland, protecting the place and scouting for new clearings we could possibly use. After hurried goodbyes, Peter, Wendy, the ex-Lost Boys and I were all in the air.

Flying back to London, everyone seemed too happy. Slightly talked of becoming a doctor or a lawyer and I couldn't help but label him as a traitor. They all were. Cubby, the twins, Tootles. Every last one of them was leaving us for her. The Darling girl who had never had a single hard day in her life. Even the days she spent on Neverland were as easy as can be, with the boys protecting her.

I snorted to myself. I hadn't really thought of myself as a boy since Wendy had come. Of course I kept the title Lost Boy, it'd be blasphemous not to. But little Wendy had come with her imposed bedtime and motherly attitude, I felt the need to show Peter that girls could be just the same as boys. Just as good.

Eventually we arrived at the townhouse, the boys going in through the front door and Wendy through the nursery window. All that remained were Peter and I, and we were both watching curiously from the edges of the window. Mrs Darling and her three brothers were overjoyed to have their little beastie back and they could keep her forever as far as I was concerned. Although there was a brother in the back that looked suspiciously like Baelfire. Had Baelfire made it to the land without magic? I caught sight of him as he embraced Wendy. They came over to the window and I heard Wendy recall her "tragic" stay on Neverland and how no one can leave. "Except for Peter and Nibs of course, they helped us escape." I heard her say and I looked for something else to keep me busy. She was a disgusting liar.

I watched Peter's face as he gazed into the Darling's nursery. It was impassive. I have no idea what scared me more: the fact that he seemed to not care or if he did, that he was doing such a good job of hiding it. I longed to reach out, to hold him. That hadn't happened since long before Wendy had come to the island. But for some reason, she had made everything worse. I had to live up to everything Wendy had done, simply because he saw us as the same.

"Peter..." I managed to say, unable to teach out to him.

He didn't even spare me a glance. "Are you going to leave me as well?"

He knew I wouldn't. Being separated from him would hurt me too much. I feared if I left, that even though I would be in pain, he would fully give into the shadow's demands. That he'd forget me, just like he would forget Wendy in time.

I sighed. "You know I never could."

He looked back at me. While his face hid the hurt, there was no deception in his green eyes. They looked like the joy had been sucked out of the world and everything was just terrible anyhow. But the color was light green, just like before Neverland, and at least that was some comfort. It pained me to see him like that, even that was breaking every one of Peter's codes. Lost Boys don't feel pain. We inflict pain.

When Wendy and Bae came to the window, the pain was even worse. "Won't you come with us Peter? We would adopt you as well." She offered, giddy with herself even though she had just spun a web of lies.

"You would send me to school? And then to an office?" He asked incredulously, and I began to see some of my best friend come back. Before the shadow had taken hold.

"I suppose so." Wendy looked dejected as she said this, before instantly brightening at catching sight of me. I really "Nibs! Oh do come live with us. Everyone would be here and mother and father would be thrilled to have another girl. We could be Lost Girls together. And you already know Bae."

I reeled back, taking ahold of Peter's hand. Clearly Wendy had no idea what "Lost" meant and obviously refused to understand that there could be no Lost Girls. Also she was bonkers! Who else would throw away Neverland at the drop of hat?

"You traitors." I stated, tugging Peter with me.

The two of us flew well above the Darling's house, but not far enough to not see Wendy sigh and close the window, barring the window to the two of us. The room quickly darkened and the one by one we could see the pinpricks of night lights, the last defense against Neverland's beckoning calls. Disgusted, we flew off in the direction of Neverland, in the direction of home.

He was quiet most of the way until we were over the Never Sea. "Cheaters. The lot of them. I offer immortality and they only use it until they decide to leave," He spat and I knew he was talking about the former Lost Boys.

I looked down at our still joined hands. "We'll find more. I promise." I swerved to a stop. "Do you have your pipes with you?"

"Yes, why?" He asked, trying to pull me towards the island.

I let go of our hands and shot over in the direction of the Enchanted Forest, knowing full well he would follow.

"We're going to find them right now." I shouted, laughing into wind. The two of us flew, laughing and performing tricks, the Darling family long forgotten. We were the same, two Lost Boys in search of our own kind.


	12. Chapter 12: Eavesdropping

**AN: I said if update yesterday... Yeah sorry lovelies. I have no other excuse except that I am Walking Dead trash and was playing all night. But more plot-ish chapters so yeah! We see the many sides of Nibs in this chapter: Exestential crisis Nibs, super spy Nibs, sticking their nose where it shouldn't be Nibs. You get the gist. And Amelia-bella1, I hope this chapter answers your question about how Bae gets to Neverland.**

 **Thanks to laced-with-dynamite for following, and to Alice for reviewing! Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Ch 12: Eavesdropping

Peter and I stayed in the Enchanted Forest a lot longer than we had planned, but it was all in the sake of gaining more Lost Boys. On the next few recruitment nights, we found Devin, Alex, Marty, Nick, and countless others. Alex and Marty were adorable to say the least, even though they were both sixteen and looked like they could beat me up. They probably couldn't, but that was beside the point. Nick was only twelve and our youngest Lost Boy. He reminded me of Tootles, not only in looks but also in mannerisms and I couldn't help but have a twinge of regret every time I looked at him. Tootles was always my favorite. And Devin was... interesting. He had a mean streak that would keep him alive on Neverland, but I knew it would also get him in trouble with Peter.

Around the seventh day I was lighting the fire, the boys we had already gotten had gone back with the shadow. Seeing the familiar black streak, I followed it into the forest. Although it was nearly sunset, any form of sunlight could hurt it and make it weaker. It stopped at a rare trail, meeting up with Peter. I hid behind a tree, listening in.

"I need him, I don't care how you get him to the island, just do it," Peter ordered.

"Since your little Wendy fiasco, I cannot guarantee that any of her brothers will want to come to Neverland," the shadow looked quite exasperated for someone without facial features.

"Lie and say I need one of them in her place. It's what you're good at, aren't you?" Peter spat. "Just remember that I created you."

"Are you threatening me?" The shadow let out a low laugh. "I gave you and your special little Lost Boy immortality. Without that heart, both of you and the island will die. The hourglass is running out."

"I told you I'd find a way and I did. Now go get him so he save us," Peter said.

The shadow sent a hand into Peter's chest, no doubt grabbing at his heart. "I wonder, how many more deaths will it take until your heart is completely black? A hundred more? Or just knowing that you were powerless to save your Lost Boy?" The shadow drew his hand back out and flew away, leaving Peter to fall to his knees.

I sunk down into a sitting position, hands clutched around my own heart. Peter's was black? That couldn't be possible, we hadn't even been really that bad. We spread lies about our killings, we hunted animals, not people. Unless those people we said we killed actually had been killed by Peter. He often did like to go to off by himself, but I thought it was to his Thinking Tree, not to go kill someone.

Were we really dying? I wondered how many years we had left. Twenty? Ten? Three? I didn't want to die, I didn't want to even age another day. I looked at my hands which hadn't aged in forty years. Calloused and sunburnt, they were still small with long fingers, like a child's. Sighing, I stood back up to continue setting up the bonfire area. Secretly I hoped that if we had more boys that believed in us, we'd be able to stop the dying process.

• • •

I admit, it was nice to be back home. Felix and Rufio had moved camp to a glade farther inland, in case Hook ever decided to go back on our deal and attack us. Highly unlikely, but still anything was a possibility. On an island where time stood still, saying something was impossible is basically asking to be killed by the most unimaginable creature.

I had arrived at camp a little later than the others, stopping at Tinkerbell's to bring her some clothes that weren't homemade. But it was night, even though we had seen the sunrise on the journey across the Never Sea. Peter must be in a foul mood, not doubt it had to do with his conversation with the shadow.

I was teaching Nick how to string a bow when I saw Peter walk off into the forest, alone. I gave a half assed excuse, before following my best friend. I was getting better at sneaking around. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but it was certainly useful.

"You dropped him?" I heard Peter hiss angrily.

"He had fire," the shadow didn't sound defensive, it was just stating a fact.

I could hear Peter sighing. "You had one job. To bring him to the island unharmed and you drop him in the ocean!"

"He was never in harm's way," at that response I snickered. The Kracken, piranhas, and mermaids were just a few of the Never Sea's deadly inhabitants. "He's with the pirates."

Something hit the tree I was hiding behind with a thunk. My best guess was that Peter threw something. "Send word to Hook, we'll be taking that newly acquired cargo," he said before stalking off in my direction.

I emerged from my hiding place, intending to conduct a full scale invasion. But when Peter noticed me, he made no mention of my eavesdropping. Either he didn't know (highly unlikely) or has more important things to worry about.

"Get Felix and Rufio and go set up the boat," he ordered, not even bothering to look at me as we walked back to camp.

"Why? Don't you think the new boys need training?" I asked.

Peter stopped and stared at me, a smirk growing on his face. "I can train them. You're needed to pick up a delivery."


	13. Chapter 13: Baelfire

**AN: Tiny, tiny chapter but very plot heavy. And the return of Nealfire! Yayyy! Tell me what you think, any criticisms or comments you have! Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Ch 13: Baelfire

"How much longer?"

"Until Hook gives the signal."

"Can't we just kidnap him?"

"Peter said to wait."

"You sound like you're in love with him."

"Am- shut up!"

"Both of you shut up!"

I was about to hit Rufio on the arm when Felix interjected. Rufio was being annoying with all his questions and I did not like being on a boat. Especially when that boat was tied to another, bigger boat that could tear our tiny thing apart. They had insisted on using a boat instead of flying. And now they were arguing and practically tipping the boat, Felix trying to keep a hand over the other's mouth to prevent him from talking. I hated these two, but they were also some of my best friends.

I rolled my eyes at both of them. "Men."

"It's a girl day today?" Rufio asked, pulling Felix's fingers off his face.

"Shut it!" Felix hissed and the two of us burst into giggles.

Rufio laughed. "Hard-ass." As silly as the guy was, I genuinely liked him. He brought a lightness to the Lost Boys, something we all desperately needed.

We sat for a while longer in the darkness, the night air being even colder than it was when we set off. Peter hadn't changed the sky in a few days and it worried me. Usually a prolonged night meant that the shadow was plotting and using Peter to enact those plots. I worried for him, even though I knew he had unimaginable powers that could even defeat the shadow if he willed it.

"... Killing your father," I heard Hook snarl the signal, and immediately scrambled to scale the top of the boat.

Felix got up there first with the Rufio and I climbing up after. I assume we looked ominous and foreboding, which was kind of the point. Hoods up, faces down, no talking. Those were the rules for that little excursion. The two of us set to work on grabbing onto Baelfire and bringing him down to the boat. Felix stood on the railing, club resting on one shoulder. He was surveying the whole scene, and I sneaked a glance at his face. Complete composure. It scared me a little bit, that we could transition from regular teenagers to being cold and calculated, running as if we shared a brain. But it helped the mission and that's all that mattered.

Hook and Baelfire were having a little heart to heart. I personally couldn't see any resemblance between Hook and Rumple, or the Crocodile, as we now called him. But that was a family matter and I had better things to do like putting the kid into our boat. He put up a little bit of a fight, but nothing we couldn't handle.

Hook said something to Felix but I didn't catch what. After a while my brother joined us on the rowboat as Hook stared down at us. I threw a sack over the kid's head and checked the bindings on his hands once more. Being related to both Peter and Rumple, I didn't trust this kid not to try to escape. Surprisingly, he didn't. I untied the ropes connecting the two boats and we began to drift back to the island, the paddles making soft splashes in the water. As a second thought, I turned to look at the Jolly Roger, which was becoming smaller and smaller as the island grew larger.

• • •

The trio landed on the beach, Nibs hopping out first to pull the boat ashore. Felix saw them struggle, but only for a moment until the boat reached the fine sand. He unceremoniously dumped Baelfire next to the signal fire, which had been set up by Devin once they left. The same Lost Boy was now hiding behind some boulders, waiting to escort their newest special case to camp. Felix pulled the soon to he Lost Boy up, ripping off the bag. Scare the kid, toss him around a little had been Pan's orders. And Felix intended to follow those to the letter. But first, they had to check.

"Is it the boy? The one he wants?" Felix asked impatiently. He secretly hoped it was so that there wouldn't have to be anymore midnight excursions to the Jolly Roger.

Rufio checked the scroll. "No it's not."

Goddammit. As a second thought, he remembered the threatening bit. "It's your lucky day boy, you get to live." He pushed the boy towards the boulders, where he saw a flash of Devin's hands snap out to grab him. "Put him with the others."

Nibs threw off their hood as soon as the kid disappeared from sight. "That was... Interesting. Bang up job, Felix, you terrified the kid." They looked off towards the boulders. "I'm gonna make sure Devin hasn't slaughtered the kid yet." They ran off, smiling.

Rufio raised an eyebrow, but handed the scroll to Felix. "Do they know?"

"About Pan?" Felix asked. "They don't know anything about the plan. Won't, until Pan says it's alright for them to know."

Rufio just nodded. He had grown close to Nibs, all of them had. No one felt good about lying to them, but if Pan ordered it, that's what had to happen. They didn't even know about the appearance of Skull Rock.

Felix looked at the scroll again. "What they don't know can't hurt them."

• • •

I followed Devin to a trail in the jungle, grabbing Baelfire's arm Devin drew his knife on me, but instantly relaxed when he figured out that I was not here to steal the kid. After Devin was sure about my hold on the kid, he ran off towards camp. I yanked the hood off of Baelfire's head, which had been replaced after Felix's little tirade

He looked a little terrified, before staring at me. "What? Nibs? You helped Wendy escape, right?"

I nodded "Not exactly, but I'm here to help you. You're going to be just fine."


	14. Chapter 14: Lost and Found

**AN: Here you are! Thanks to Amelia-bella1 again for reviewing! (Seriously that is dedication; thank you so much!)**

 **Please tell me what you think, I love hearing from all of you! Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 14: Lost and Found

Baelfire became my special case. He was frightened of the other Lost Boys, anti-social, and had no friends besides me. I truly felt for the poor boy. His only family on the island was gone most of the time, doing God knows what. So he became my friend, and in return I was the only person on the island he trusted. So after just one week of being on Neverland and not eating that entire time, I had to intervene.

I poked him with a bird leg, freshly roasted. "Eat." I was bored, with Peter off making another new treaty with the Picanny chief.

He just stared up at me from his log, wearing that kicked puppy expression. "Not hungry."

"You we don't need to eat on Neverland, but you've probably already figured that out," I said, swinging one leg across the log to straddle it. "It'll make you feel a lot better. Now, eat. The. Food."

"Or what?" He asked, flipping the too long brown hair out of his eyes. I ought to ask Tink to help me give the boys haircuts.

"Or I'll dump you in Mermaid Lagoon," I retorted, waving the drumstick in his face.

He took it and began to chow down, faster than anyone I've seen in my life. "What is it?" He asked through mouthfuls of meat.

"Wendy-bird," I joked, before seeing his shocked and repulsed expression. "Kidding! It's neverbird. They don't fly and are quite easy to catch, the only hard part is that they live in the mountains."

Baelfire seemed to relax at this, now savoring the food. Once he was done, I grabbed the bone and threw it into the fire, pleased at how it glowed white for just a second before erupting into a series of cracklings and popping. The Lost Boys all ducked and drew their weapons, on the look out for pirates but scoffed when they saw it was a bone. My mad cackling probably helped them draw the conclusion a lot faster as well.

Baelfire was quiet again and I reached out to touch his cheek, effectively getting his attention. "I know you may not like this, but we are your family now. And what Wendy told you about leaving this place, it's not that we can't. We don't want to."

"My family is back in London," he said stubbornly.

I sighed, knowing that telling him that Wendy was a dirty, lying traitor wouldn't help with gaining his trust. Standing up, I gave the boy's leg a pat. "Training starts in an hour and we're having a celebration tonight. I hope you'll be involved in one of them."

I went to go find my own weapon, dumping a handful of them in the clearing. The boys all trickled in, pushing each other and laughing. I smiled on as Felix joined me at the front. Being the oldest Lost Boys, we were in charge of training all of the new ones. The bad thing was that they all seemed to like archery for some odd reason, while Felix was more about brute force and I was more of a dodge and evade kind of fighter. It was fun though and when Baelfire finally staggered in, I felt accomplished for some reason. Especially when he beat Felix in a sparring contest, using some moves I had only taught him ten minutes prior.

Training ended when Felix was sprawled on the forest floor and Baelfire holding a dagger to his throat. The others were screaming for blood. To the crowd's disappointment, no blood was shed, just the sheathing of a dagger and a sharp blow to Felix's pride. Laughing, all the boys walked into the main camp, Baelfire being carried on Alex's shoulders. I put my arms around Felix's and Rufio's shoulders, the three of us walking and laughing.

"Don't worry Felix, your pride will grow back someday," Rufio said, patting his shoulder.

Felix growled. to which I added, "How does it feel to be taken down by a kid who's only been on the island for a week?"

Felix clocked me the side of my head, to which I head butted his arm. He took this as a threat and we began to wrestle, once I let go of Rufio's shoulder. After a bit of struggling, Felix ended up laying face down of the dirt, with me sitting on his back, holding him in a headlock. Both of us were dirty and covered in pine needles, but I really didn't care.

"Relent!" I shouted.

"Never!" Felix twisted to pinch my knee, but I just stepped on his arm. Whoops.

"And for the second time today, Felix Haven has been brutally defeated!" Rufio announced, picking me up and tossing me onto his shoulders. I cheered and we headed into camp like that, with Felix sulking behind us.

Rufio let me down as we made it to the glade, with everyone dancing around campfire. I danced right along with them, letting out whooping cries of triumph. The only ones that weren't dancing were a set of triplets, who were playing the drums, and Felix who was watching from a log. Laughing I pulled him from the log and despite his protests, we rejoined the dance. The beat was raw and inviting, possibly the best part of being a Lost Boy. No regulatory adults, just raw emotion to be felt whenever it decided to make its entrance.

Which is exactly when Peter decided to make his entrance. I felt myself being yanked from the circle and out of the corner I saw the same had been done to Felix. Peter stood in front of us, but he was unrecognizable. He was covered in blood, most of it not his own. His dagger was covered in blood as well, the red staining the metal. Peter's pupils were blown out, only leaving a sliver of dark green iris. This wasn't Peter. This was Pan, King of Neverland. This was the person that had earned us our murderous reputation.

"What were you trying to do?!" He shouted at Felix, breathing hard. Had he ran all the way from the Picannys' camp?

Felix raised an eyebrow. "It's called dancing."

"You cheating, lying, bastard!" He shouted, causing all of us to openly stare. The triplets had stopped playing and now all of the boys where watching us three with bated breath.

Peter raised his dagger at Felix, fully intent to bring it down against the other's skull. I jumped in front, my hand holding Peter's arm where it couldn't do any damage.

"Peter," I whispered, slowly taking the dagger out of his hand. "Come back to us. You're not... This is Pan. This isn't you."

He stood there, before blinking twice. He seemed to take In everything with a new observance. "Nibs?"

I sighed in relief, and took his hand in mine. I led him to our treehouse, climbing up the ladder. After I made sure he got up there. Once I closed the door, I heard Felix shout at the boys to "Mind your own business, goddammit." Good old Felix.

He sat down on the bed while I grabbed the bucket,a mound of spare bandages, and cloths we kept in here for times like this. He peeled off his shirt and three it in the corner, too torn up and bloodied to be useful anymore. We could always add shirts to the list when Hook came back for our supply run.

"What were you doing with him?" He growled, wincing as I began to dab a wet cloth onto his angry wounds.

"We were dancing. If you haven't noticed he doesn't do it a lot," I tried to answer as calmly as possible.

"Why? There are plenty of other boys, why him? Am I not good enough for you?" He snarled, grabbing my hand as he turned to face me.

Outraged, I slapped him on the cheek. "He's my brother. We kept it from you because we were scared you'd leave him in the Enchanted Forest."

"You lied to me?!" He roared.

I yanked my hand out of his grip. "Would you have left him?"

"You lied."

"Not exactly, I just didn't tell you. Now would you have left him? Yes or no?"

"... Yes."

Satisfied, I turned him back around to clean all the dirt out of a nasty gash on his back. I picked a rock out of it, which was slightly disgusting. What was he doing, wrestling with Neverbeasts? Sighing, I inspected several wounds all narrowly missing his spine. They dipped inwards, the center point being the deepest. I heard him gasp in pain as I moved a flap of dead and red hued skin out of the way. Arrow wounds. He was lucky to be alive.

"Secondly," I added as a second thought, one that would possibly get me killed. "Frankly, I have no idea what you're doing most of time, in fact I don't really care at this point. If you want someone to give a damn, go back to Tigerlily. I'm certain she'll find other ways to comfort you that I can't give."

He was silent for a while, and I thought this would be the last night I would live to see. Goodbye Neverland, it was nice to be here. But he spoke up. "I can't do that."

A little exasperated I snapped, "Well why not? Did you and your little girlfriend have a fight?"

"They're dead," he said, more level than I had imagined.

"Did you-" I swallowed, my throat feeling suddenly dry. "Did you kill them?"

"Yes."

I let this information sink in, continuing to bandage his entire abdomen. Was I shocked? A little bit. Did I expect this? The more I thought about it, I realized I wasn't. Their end was inevitable, with Peter growing more and more territorial. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. Well, that was one group out of the way. All that was left was the pirates. But, this might also have been the shadow talking.

I tucked the end of the bandage into the other wrappings before finishing it off with a knot. Blood was already starting to stain it and I would have to redress the wounds in the morning. "You're done."

Peter nodded, turning to face me. I kept my head down, knowing he actually might send me away from Neverland for lying. He lifted a hand to my cheek, cupping it. Startled, I looked up. He took this as his chance to kiss me. I was taken aback and pushed him out of the way, scrambling to the edge of the bed.

"Bloody hell, Peter!" I made out. Very articulate, good job to me.

He smirked. "Were you not expecting that? I've waited forty years to do that."

"What, just what?" I asked, my brain still refused to process the events that had just happened. "You've been waiting forty years? That's-"

"Ever since we arrived? Yes, it is," he calmly stated. I didn't know how he could be so calm about this, about any of this! "Was that your first?"

"No!" I lied.

Peter just quirked one of his eyebrows and I sighed. "Yes it was. Happy?"

"Not really," he stated, before kissing me again, pushing me on my back. My head landed on the pillow, but that didn't really register.

The kiss wasn't sweet like the first one. This one was hungry, like we would be separated at any moment. I kissed back with as much fervor, having been waiting for this as long as he had. I felt him climb on top of me, and my hands went immediately to his shoulders, my fingers tracing the old burn on his right shoulder.

When he finally broke off the kiss, a smirk played upon his lips. "Much better. Don't you think?"

"Yeah," I breathed. I felt as if this was just a daydream of mine and I'd wake up sitting around the campfire.

Peter leaned down to kiss me again, and I could feel him using one arm to try and rid me of my shirt. I obliged, breaking the kiss for a second while I pulled my shirt over my head and threw it towards the other wall, not caring where it landed. A cold draft immediately hit my skin, making me shiver. But that was all lost when we resumes the kiss, making me forget everything. Baelfire, dying, the shadow, everything just seemed to melt away from my thoughts as the night continued on, with Peter right next to me.

* * *

 **You like? ;D**


	15. Chapter 15: Morning After

**AN: Over a thousand hits? :D you are all awesome, thank you! Really heavy dialogue chapter, but shirtless Peter is worth it. Thanks to Sing97 and Amelia-bella1 for reviewing again! Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 15: Morning After

I blinked sleepily in the sunlight filtering in between the slats of the treehouse. Everything hurt, but I thought that was from the fight with Felix the day before. Also I had forgotten to undo my bindings yesterday, which were still tightly attached to my chest. Great. That's going to start hurting real soon.

I tried to pull my blanket closer to me, but discovered it was on the floor. It felt like a normal morning, until I saw that Peter wasn't in his hammock. Confused, I looked around to find Peter lying next to me. Or more accurately, on top of me. He was shirtless and sleeping soundly. A quick glance down showed me that I was in the same predicament as well. Oh. Oh.

Last night came back into my memories and my fingers ghosted over my lower lip. The night wasn't perfect by anyone else's standards. Nothing ever seemed to be that way between us. But for all its faults, it was hard to picture any other way we could do this. Neither of us were romantic by any means of the word.

"Morning," he muttered, tightening one of his arms around my waist. I just laid there, once again refusing to accept that things had just happened.

"Where's the standard morning complaint?" Peter smirked, placing a light peck on my shoulder. "Too in awe of last night?"

I shook my head, still feeling mute. I liked last night, it was fun. But, Peter's my best friend. Would this make things completely awkward between us? I still wanted to be best friends, but romance would just get in the way. Doesn't it always? Also there's the whole, he just murdered a lot of people thing to deal with. I turned onto my side, with my back to him.

"Nibs," Peter moved closer to me and I could feel his chest pressed up against my back. "It couldn't have been that bad."

"It wasn't," I mumbled. "It was perfect."

I could feel him smirk against my skin. "And your problem is?"

"We're best friends," I said, lifting my face out of my hands.

He snorted. "People do date their best friends, I know it's not common in our shared experience but..."

I knew he was talking about my parents and Rumple. My parents fought as if the world depended on it. Milah and Rumple... Let's just say I'm glad that they were together long enough to make Baelfire.

"But..." I began, trying to think of things to say.

Peter laughed and starting kissing up and down my neck. Not helpful in the slightest. "But what, love?"

"You killed nearly a hundred people yesterday," I finally gasped out.

He just hummed. "Did you even hear me speak?" I accused.

"Yes I heard," he admitted. I felt him shift, probably onto his elbows. "And in my defense, they were going to kill us. I found something in Tigerlily's tent, battle plans. They were going to annihilate us, Nibs."

I kept quiet at this, letting the fact sink in. If he was telling the truth, then it would make sense to get rid of the people that were going to wipe us out. But it didn't feel completely real. It felt like there were certain details he had left out. I'd try to get them later, but for now I was satisfied.

I turned round to face him. A smile, an actual smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Do you still believe in me?"

I let out a shaky laugh. "I find it that believing things you say is the hard part."

Peter shook his head and rolled on top of me, kissing me again. I kissed back, lacing my fingers in his hair to keep him close to me to me. We didn't stop until I heard someone, who was not me or Peter, clear their throat. Had we not barred the door last night?

"What, Felix?" Peter growled, still facing me. His face was full of anger and it made me giggle.

"Nibs is gone and Hook's called a meeting," Felix drawled, inspecting his club.

Peter climbed off of me, and turned to Felix, his eyes practically screaming murder. "Tell Hook that he can make use of his iron attachment and shove it up his ass."

I laughed, which caused Felix to turn to us. A half formed reply died on his lips, before he smirked and walked off. "Never mind about the first part, I found Nibs."

I sighed, throwing my head back I the bed. No doubt Felix had run off to tell Rufio, who would in turn tell nearly everyone on the island. I groaned. This would a nightmare to explain. But, I thought as I lifted my head up to see Peter hurriedly pulling on a pair of boots. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

 **So I'm thinking about writing out the scene in between this chapter and Chapter 14 on another piece, just so this piece can be kept at a T rating. Let me know if you want that!**


	16. Chapter 16: Plans

**AN: I'm so glad you all like this story so much! Seriously you are all so amazing! If you like fics that involve Joker having a daughter I recommend checking out Daddy's Orders by lizrosequinn or even my new one, Perfect Little Monster, which is based on the new 52 canon! I'll be updating PLM soon but MTL is my top priority right now. Thanks to Amelia-bella1, Alice, and Guest for reviewing! Happy Reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 16: Plans

I'd never thought that things would be awkward between me, Felix, and Rufio. But that's exactly what happened as we were walking towards the beach. Peter had sent us to go "intimidate, threaten, and maybe knock around" Hook, until he gave up why he called this meeting. I hadn't really paid attention after that, he was doing thing where he constantly had to be touching me. My arm when to steady me when climbing down the ladder, my hand as he passed by me, anything. And it was distracting. Had he always done that? Maybe I was just hyper aware of it now.

"So... How long have you known?" I asked to break the silence.

They shared a look before Rufio answered with a smile. "Well, you two weren't exactly quiet. So, about last night."

I stopped in my tracks. "He said the treehouse was soundproof. Bastard."

"And usually it is," Felix smirked. "Remember the Wendy nights?"

I shook my head. Thinking about Wendy would only dull my mood. Thinking about Peter doing the same with Wendy... That just made me want to kill something, preferably her.

"He's still a bastard. But he's my bastard," I said with a faint smile.

"Oh god, the sappiness, it's-it's killing me!" Rufio fake gagged, complete with choking noises.

We laughed at his over dramatic performance complete with pretending to retch into the bushes and dying by stabbing himself in the chest with an invisible knife. Once we had wasted enough time, Felix roughly yanked our companion up from the ground and put him on his feet.

"Spectacular rendition," I drawled. "You could be in love one day. With someone you never expected like maybe Devin-" I paused and grinned evilly. "Or Felix."

Rufio stared at me open mouthed before running at full speed the to the beach, shouting. "Kill them now, Felix! They're infected with cooties!"

I dissolved into laughter. Felix just rolled his eyes and we walked on, weapons hanging loosely by our sides.

"I know I'm supposed to give the big brother speech about killing Pan if he hurts you," Felix said. "But that's just not gonna happen."

I laughed. "I didn't expect you to. But, I'm older."

"Nope. You're sixteen, I'm seventeen."

"I was born twenty years before you!"

"Time doesn't pass on Neverland."

I clocked him on the head to which he returned the gesture. We spent most of the way to the pirate ship shoving and hitting each other. I nearly stepped into one of our traps and was only saved by a rather large push from my brother. After about five minutes of this, we sped up. Because in all honesty, Rufio's gotten himself in trouble with less time alone.

•••

"Your point to this meeting is?" Rufio asked as the three of us as the three of us hopped on deck, with me still on the railing, leaning against the railing.

Hook just scowled, his hook digging a notch into the wood. "I brought your delivery."

"We could have gotten it later," I rolled my eyes. "We know when you arrive on Neverland, you're not exactly quiet about it."

"I want information," he said. "And I'm not opposed to torturing teenagers to get it."

I barked a laugh. "Our agreement was that you give us information and whatever else we wanted, not the other way around."

Rufio took that as his cue to open the hold, tossing bundles of stuff to Felix who then threw them onto our boat, moored to the side of the Jolly Roger. I watched Hook's face carefully, enjoying the thinly veiled rage. This man was all too easy to use.

"That's the last of it!" Rufio shouted, and I nodded. Him and Felix scaled down the side of the ship and down into our dinghy.

Hook crossed over to me. "I have what you want. There's a realm only accessible through magic bean. There's no magic at all and no curses. You and your Lost Boys would be mostly safe there."

I nodded. Now that Peter and I were in an actual relationship of sorts, my search to free him from the shadow's grip. His heart and possibly his entire being was at stake and I couldn't let him get any darker. I turned to leave.

"What about my revenge?" He snarled, grabbing me by the arm.

I yanked myself out of his grip. "There's a dagger that the Crocodile always keeps on him," I said. "You'll get more information once you find out more about this land without magic."

I jumped over the railing and landed in the boat. Taking the third set of oars, we began to slowly pulled ourselves towards the island. Hauling the supplies took a lot longer than expected, but finally we made it to camp just after the sky turned to night. The boys descended upon the bundles, ripping them open and yelling out what we had. Felix was safely up in a tree branch, avoiding Rufio who had found bread and was pelting my brother with crumbs.

"How was our little codfish?" Peter asked from behind me, taking a bite of cake.

I laughed and took a bite off of his piece. "Just lovely."

Peter gave me a sidelong glance. "The cake could be better."

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "You always have to complain about something. I can't tell if your seven or seventeen sometimes."

"Nothing wrong with that," he muttered, pressing our foreheads together and wrapping his arms around my waist. "I could be you in the morning."

"Get a room!" I heard Rufio shout and I laughed. Peter didn't find it so amusing and I saw his expression grow almost murderous.

"He's just kidding, Peter," I said softly, bringing one of my hands to rub up a down his arm, the only sure fire way to calm him down. "It's Rufio, you know he doesn't mean anything by it."

Peter was still slightly angry, I could see that much. But I walked off when I felt he wasn't liable to explode or cause any explosions. Plucking a piece of cake out of the pile, I made my way to Baelfire, who was sitting away from the crowd. I flung my leg around the log, sitting next to him.

"I feel like we've done this before," I laughed, offering the cake to him.

Baelfire just smiled before taking the cake, nibbling in the edge. "So you and Pan..."

"Yes," I said. "To everything you you're going to ask, yes."

I could see him holding back a laugh. He instantly grew serious. "I wanted to ask you something about the island."

"Alright," I frowned, not liking where this was going.

He took a deep breath before asking, "Echo Caves, how long can one hide in there?"

Shit. He was planning an escape. And I had thought he was finally starting to fit in. I tried to think of an answer that wouldn't get the kid killed, by Peter or the island. "Echo Caves are a place you don't even want to go near. There are other caves on the island, but they're mostly inhabited by all kinds of deadly things. Take my advice and whatever you're planning- don't do it."

I felt a hand on my back and turned to find Peter, who smiled at me and then almost growled at Baelfire. So territorial. I stood up and followed him to the bottom of our treehouse.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"He's planning something," Peter glanced over at Baelfire. "I want to know what it is."

"You mean you don't know everything?" I asked, my eyes going wide in mock surprise.

"Just find out, alright love?" He asked, placing a hand over my shoulder.

"Or what?" I smirked.

Peter didn't give me a verbal answer. Instead he placed open mouthed kisses on my neck, sucking and doing this absolutely wonderful thing with his mouth. I sighed in contentment, but suddenly the pressure, and more importantly Peter, was gone. I saw a flash of green disappear into the treehouse and I smiled, climbing up the ladder after him.


	17. Chapter 17: Baelfire Is An Idiot

**AN: If you can't tell by the title, plot happens that includes everyone's beloved Nealfire. Also cheeky Felix again, which is my most favorite thing about him. Thanks to Alice, Guest, and Amelia-bella1 for reviewing! As always tell me what you think, and how I can make it any better! Happy Reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 17: Baelfire Is An Idiot

"Peter?" I asked, entering the treehouse. This time I made sure to bar the door behind me.

He appeared in front of me, backing me against the wall. After a moment, our lips met. It was a bruising kiss and at some point I remember my lips parting to give him more access. And oh was that the right decision. After what seemed like too short of a time, Peter ended the kiss, his forehead leaning against mine.

"Someone's impatient," I commented, breathless.

"I don't like the way some of the boys look at you," He admitted, keep his eyes on the ground but his brows were furrowed into one hard line.

I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. "For all your power you still have the same emotional spectrum as when I met you."

He smirked at this and I knew I had done something right. "I think I'm a bit more mature than that, love."

"Oh really?" I asked, lightly dusting my fingertips across his shoulders, playing with a loose thread, anything that wasn't his skin. I knew it would drive him mad. Once he had enough, Peter took off his shirt, throwing it in a pile.

"And I can prove it to you," he breathed, capturing my lips with his.

Heaven. I can't describe it any more than that. Even though the two of us had been inseparable these past few days, it was wonderful to be together again. Without being able to tell where one ended and the other began.

"Ahem."

Peter broke off the kiss. "What now?"

I looked up at my brother, who had gotten through the door again. What the hell? Sighing, I ducked out from Peter and crossed the room to pick up the fallen blanket, wrapping it around my shoulders.

I glanced at Peter. "I know I barred the door."

"You did," He stated, grinning evilly. "I think leaving it unlocked makes it more exciting."

"Bastard."

"You love it."

"We lost Baelfire," Felix piped up. "Your shirt's over there by the way."

Peter darkened before I tossed the shirt at his head. He instantly smiled and with a wave of his hand the blanket around me blew back. I grumbled and went to fetch it. Only turning around to make sure he actually put his shirt on.

"How do you lose a fourteen year old?" He growled.

Finally I had found my blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders again, this time stepping in between my brother and Peter. "He's probably gone off to pout. He does that a lot."

Felix shook his head. "Bedroll was gone and so were about three week's of rations. And he got the coconut."

Peter looked at me as if to say, now where's your excuse. He barged through the door, Felix close behind. I sighed and dropped my blanket on the floor before following suit. Goddamn it Baelfire.

Once on the landing, I could see Peter brace himself up against the tree. "I want every Lost Boy to scout this island for him. I need him alive."

I didn't question this, but instead flew off to go look for Baelfire. This kid was going to be the death of me. I tried to be his friend and then he decided to run away. With some coconut thing, and if it was important to Peter then we needed to get that back. Because what Peter wants, Peter gets.


	18. Chapter 18: Hammocks

**AN: Hi lovelies! Guess who's back? This chapter took forever and a day to write but I actually love the last scene. I won't be updating this week as I'm going to a summer camp but I'll try to update as soon as I get back! As always, review to tell me what you think!**

 **Thanks to Cheshire's Ace for favoriting, zamzym for favoriting/following, to sacco and Kagome Echizen Fan for following. Also special thanks to Amelia-bella1, Guest, Blaze, and Alice for reviewing! To Blaze, thank you for all the kind praise and I'm glad you're happy (also you're amazing and I'm so sorry for the in update response I have no other way to contact you)**

 **PLEASE READ: I have a while before the scheduled end of this story and not nearly enough ideas, so I was wondering if there is anything you would like to read, I'm open to suggestions. Just PM me or leave it in a review! Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 18: Hammocks

The search continued for two months. Not as many were sent out that first week, but enough to where we were barely getting enough food to eat. I could see our faces growing thinner, our bodies rebelling against the lack nutrition and degrading our muscles. Even Felix was abnormally thin and he didn't have any extra pounds to spare.

Peter was affected as well. More and more dangerousthings would appear on Neverland each passing day. Boys were dropping like flies and the shadow was sent out to different realms nearly every day to bring more. We had to send the ones from Wonderland back, as most of them were adamant that they weren't Lost, they had just "Taken a wrong turn, thank you very much. Now if you will kindly point me to Queast or Snugg I will be on my way, bless you." They wouldn't have lasted long anyways.

After the end of the second month, Peter called an end to the search. We were tired, emaciated, and running on nothing but sheer willpower. We had become animalistic, the slightest hint of discontent being blown into anger. Suspicious of everyone and everything. Peter hadn't gotten much sleep, the only times he did were when I sat on top of him and refused to move until he fell asleep.

After the manhunt a sense of normalcy fell back onto the island. I don't understand why we spent so much time looking for Baelfire, but I'm glad it was over. The kid could die on the island or escape to die by pirates, I couldn't bring myself to care. He had caused my boys enough pain. He had just accelerated Peter's descent into darkness and I couldn't forgive that.

Peter had grown darker since the search started and was steadily getting worse. Our "games" were harsher, arrows being laced with Dreamshade and pranks involving mutilation of other boys. At that point in time, nearly half of the boys were missing at least two fingers, and there were about ten that had lost three. Neverland was never going back to what it once was. We were all too- dare I say it- grown up for the kind of childish magic that had once been the heart of the island.

•••

It was the first time I had used actual magic. Not flying, not Neverland's special kind where anyone could imagine anything, just pure magic.

I wish I could say that it was a fabulous occasion and everyone cheered. Truth is, it was just Peter and I hunting (Since we had gotten together, any hunting parties with us had to be four or more people) and we were fighting. I'm certain all of Neverland and parts of the Enchanted Forest could hear us. I don't remember why we started fighting, but it did end up with him standing over me.

"Get away," he snarled.

This cued an eye roll from me. "Or what? You'll exile me? You'll torture me? We both know that you could never do anything like that."

I ducked underneath him to turn around, walking away. "You need me, thing is, I don't need you."

I could never figure out if I believed what I had just said. The truth, like all things, was distorted on Neverland. If you were around a particular lie enough, you would begin to see it as truth. If you believe in that truth or lie, then it becomes a part of you, something regarded as fact.

"And you actually believe that?" He laughed. "You believe that I need you? I already have everything, you're just icing on the cake."

I whirled around and marched right back to him, dagger against his throat. "Take it back."

"Make me."

I didn't notice that my dagger was glowing with heat. I saw something change in his expression. It was softer and less guarded. No doubt the return of the Peter I once knew. His actual smile brought me out of my rage to realize I was holding a burning item that was trying to sear my palms off. Squawking, I dropped the dagger. Peter picked it up, turning it over in his hands as if it wasn't like molten flame.

"I'm impressed," he said. "No really, I expected magic but not to this degree. Bad form on my part."

I stood in shock, trying to decide whether to have him teach me more or to kill him. "That was all...?"

"All to get you to use magic?" He smirked. "Yes, emotional magic is the easiest at first."

"And those things you said..." I trailed off once again.

"False," he actually looked confused for once, an emotion I'm not used to seeing on him and one he's probably not used to feeling. "I don't need you, per say, but I do think I might love you."

What? I blinked and then I blinked twice more. What the hell? He didn't love me... We're still children and children are heartless creatures...

"Nibs it's not as if I proposed," he came closer. "You can't possibly think too hard on-"

"No!" I shouted, a ring of red colored light shooting out from my chest. It blew Peter back against a tree.

I didn't know what else to do, I ran as far as I could. I only stopped at camp, ignoring Felix's raised eyebrow and Rufio's blunt question about what happened. Up the treehouse I went and I did not even think straight until I was lying in Peter's hammock. I stroked the threadbare sides. I always ended up climbing in with him at night, mostly when I was unawares. He'd sigh, make room, and then close his arms around me. At that moment, I tried to pull the sides closer around me.

He couldn't love me. There was so much darkness all around us, no one could love another in this environment. Everything was against loving, instead keeping your mind occupied on where you stood in the food chain. Although, we were true loves. The time I had used the pixie dust seemed a forever ago, but pixie dust never lies. Could true love change over time? Could one of the pair become absolutely heartless, or could it just die? I knew I loved him. I just didn't know if he believed that he loved me or was just trying to name an unfamiliar emotion.

After what felt like years, Peter strode into the house. I immediately turned towards the wall. The scrape of the stool being dragged and then a low sigh from Peter told me that he was right next to the hammock.

"This is my bed," he joked. "You're acting like a child."

He sighed. "I do love you. It's not an I think or a might anymore. Just accept it and move on with your life."

I turned around to face him. "Do you believe that? Don't lie to me, or I will string you up on Hangman's Tree."

"I do," he leaned down closer to my face, our lips almost touching. "I'd like to see you try."

"It wouldn't be too hard," I manage to say.

I scoot over in the hammock and he joins me, once again resuming our nightly position. He pressed a kiss to my forehead before I begin to worry again.

"You promise you believe it?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

He linked his pinkie with mine before lacing our fingers together. "Of course."


	19. Chapter 19: Viper's Nest

**AN: Yeah, it's late I honestly have no excuses but I promise I'll update tomorrow as well. We actually are approaching the end of the story, but there will be a sequel! Yay! I can already tell you it will be called Get Out Alive. Thanks to everyone who followed, favorites and reviewed! As always, let me know what you think, reviews are awesome! Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 19: Viper's Nest

Peter and I fell into a more comfortable routine after that night. Even though the days were harder, I still found my sense of order. Peter was more open with affection, something I found particularly strange. I didn't question it however. He was still King of Neverland and despite being his second in command, I was still a Lost Boy.

My comfort was constantly challenged. Sometimes the new recruits didn't see Peter for months at a time and so they began to worship him with a sort of reverence. They would make up stories, only fed by Rufio's wild exaggerations and Felix's refusal to back anything they said, which only gave them more fodder. I found myself missing the old Boys: Slightly, Tootles, Cubby, and the Twins. Thoughts of them only brought on sadness. They were either dead or dying by that point, as it had been fifty years since we left them.

The strangest stories had to be the ones they made up about Felix's scar. One was that Peter (or Pan as everyone but I called him) had gotten angry and slashed his face. Another boasted that Rufio had smashed Felix's face into a rock as the former was being taken to Neverland. My personal favorite was one that Felix was the object of a local mermaid's desires. This story continued on for what seemed to be hours, with the mermaid scarring Felix's face, complete with the "if I can't have him, no one can" sentiment. It finally ended with Felix stringing up the mermaid above the water for her to shrivel up in unfiltered sunlight. The real story of his scar was much more embarrassing. Apparently as a child, he had been running and tripped, cutting his face on a sharp rock. Rufio highly enjoyed this, proceeding to point out any rock to my brother followed by a "Don't trip!".

The Land Without Magic was proving more and more difficult to gather recruits from. The children simply refused to believe in magic anymore, and the ones that did always had a glaring personality flaw. We kept one, a sixteen year old named Danny. He apparently told us that only a decade before, a war had ravaged the entire world, bringing a sense of adulthood into even the smallest child. That news was far from comforting to hear.

Raid parties were among Peter's newest games. Other tribes were formed, often ones of children brave enough to even still dream of Neverland, and would come and try to be the reigning group of Neverland. It was a game of cat and mouse, until Peter had enough and our forces descended upon the others, obliterating them from existence. Despite the rather bloody battles here, the children died in their sleep in whatever land they came from. We celebrated each raid, each destroyed clan. Neither was comforting.

As I was coming back from a recon mission one day, I took a different path. I didn't feel like flying over Never Mountain, so I took the scenic route. And stepped right into a trap. A carefully concealed rope tightened in the branches, bringing up a hidden net. I was caught in the net and struggled to be free, before taking out my dagger and sawing at my woven prison. It would take a while.

When I heard footsteps, I stopped. It was probably Peter, either planning some new game or come to gloat. The figure that emerged in front of me was tinier, with the same build but not the same height.

I sighed. "Do you mind letting me down?" When I didn't get an answer, I began to saw at the ropes again. "I guess this is going to be done the hard way then."

Without warning, the figure cut the ropes with a razor sharp cutlass. The net and I came crashing to the ground, the jungle a blur as I fell and then a fuzz as I hit my head on the dirt. Instantly I got up, weapon at the ready. The figure threw off their hood, revealing Baelfire.

My eyes grew wide in surprise, but I quickly hid it with a playful smile. "Someone's been getting good at this."

"I had to," was all he said.

I scoffed. "You had a place with us. We would have kept you-"

"And made me fight like an animal?" It was his turn to scoff. "That's not the life I want."

"We're your family-" I began but was cut off.

"My family is back in London, I'd never even consider the Lost Boys as a family," he sighed. "They're probably already dead but... I just want to see. To make sure they were okay."

I felt sorry for him, I truly did. Then something caught my attention. Loud and off-key singing. I quickly pulled Bae and I off the trail, into a bush for cover. I was just in time as well, as the pirates came stomping by, with Hook bringing up the rear. They all stopped to admire Baelfire's handiwork. I kept a hand clamped over his mouth, in case he decided to start screaming. I could only see the tips of their cracked leather boots, yet even that still put me on edge.

"We need to find her," a crew member, Starky, snarled.

Smee looked warily at the trees before whispering, "They don't like to be called a girl. It's best not to get on their bad side."

I peeked up when I realized they were talking about me. In a crouch, I slowly made my way over to another patch of bushes. I pulled Baelfire along with me and I could see his silent protests. Didn't really matter however. I wanted to know why they were talking about me.

Starlet let out a low laugh. "She's some silly little girl playing pretend, the sooner we get back to our realm the better, lest she calls her pet demon."

Pet demon? Even with my rising fury, I still picked that out. He could have been talking about Peter, I'm fairly certain I've heard Hook call him a demon several times. But Felix could have also been the pet demon, but he's more of the silent, kill you in your sleep type of evil. And then there was Rufio, whose loud laugh could be plenty terrifying. Honestly it could have been any of them.

As I was about to pull Baelfire away, he rushed out, right into the path of the pirates. And before I could slip away, he grabbed onto my arm, pulling me out of the bushes. I struggled, trying to fend off the approaching crew with my dagger, but both Baelfire and a pirate that had to be at least eighty subdued me. Caught by an old man and a scrawny kid; that certainly didn't boost my self esteem.

Even bound, I wasn't going to make it easier for them. I struggled and kicked and spat and yelled nasty things at them all, only halting when I felt an iron hook against my throat. I scowled at the captain, which only made his smirk grow wider. Damn pirate.

"And you're certain he'll come?" Hook asked, but not to me.

Baelfire spoke up. "To save them, Pan would give up his own life."

"Pray that you're correct," Hook whipped his arm away, nicking my neck in the process. "To the ship!"

The pirates all echoed the cry, tossing me back and forth like a sack of flour. After I had bitten four pirates, they finally gagged me and sent me to the back of the party with Baelfire, who wouldn't look at me. He had no right to, the little traitor.

"I'm not still working with them," he said softly, only gaining an eye roll from me.

"I'm really not! I just- I wanted the both of us to be safe. The Land Without Magic is an amazing place, we could stay with the Darling family," he sighed. "You're my only friend on this island, I wanted you to be safe. I bartered passage with them to use you as bait to get Pan to let them out of their deal."

I walked on in silence. It was a nice sentiment. Baelfire was just too noble for his own good. It was a surprising trait to have, as both his father, uncle, and mother weren't noble in the slightest. However, when it was taking me away from my home, my family, and my lover, it was something to be despised.

The trek to the ship was long and tiring. At one point I smelled roasting meet and knew we were close to camp. I tried to escape, managing to hid for a good hour until they caught me again. This time they threw a sack over my head as to blind me. I relied on touch and hearing to tell where we were. When I heard the gentle lap of waves, my heart sank. We were at the beach and once I was in a boat, I had nowhere to escape to. I was loaded onto what I assumed to be a dinghy, the pirates being unnecessarily quiet. I didn't think much of it until I was thrown aboard the Jolly Roger. This ship always made me uncomfortable, it was like stepping into a viper's nest. I was still blinded and gagged, and then they had the gall to bind me to the railing as well. Idiots. I hoped Peter would let me kill every last one of them.

Again everything was quiet, save for Hook and Baelfire arguing. I wasn't interested until I heard the pop of teleportation magic. Hopefully it was Peter.

As I listened in, my heart dropped. "Why hello dearies."

Shit.

d


	20. Chapter 20: The Coming Storm

**AN: Woo! It's update time! I promise you that blood will be shed in this chapter, but the initial fight will happen next chapter and actually, no Nibs POV this chapter either. Anyways thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! As always, let me know what you think in a review! Happy reading!**

~Luna

Chapter 20: The Coming Storm

Wrong. Peter had already flown about the island three times and could not see Nibs or even pick up their life force. He would have felt it of they died, their life was just as entertained with Neverland as his. But now instead of them there was just a glaring emptiness and uncertainty. Which only meant that they were not on the island. Which was wrong.

 _They left you._

 _Not here, not caring._

 _Ran off with Hook, they deserve someone that can give them a life._

"Shut it," Peter growled. Logically, he knew that the voices were only in his head, but now was not the time for logic.

Neverland had grown darker. On his search for his Lost Boy he had discovered several new, grotesque hybrids of animals living on the island. He used to joke that while he infused the island with darkness, Nibs had created the light. They were the reason this was originally a safe haven for children in their dreams. He never realized how true that was. Did he feel any guilt? Not really, Nibs was his top priority, everything- even the safety of the island- was second.

Peter couldn't find them. After four hours of looking there was absolutely nothing. He changed the sky to night and then descended into the camp. All of the boys froze, staring at their leader with bated breath. No one moved a muscle. Fear kept them in line, in their places. It wasn't until Felix moved to grab his club that the other boys finally understood what was happening. A raid on the last threat. Death to the pirates, with the rescuing of one of their own.

Peter didn't even need to rally them, the prospect of finally deaf eating the pirates was like a drug to them. The entire camp was filled with shouts and the clang of metal as the Lost Boys made to arm themselves. Their conversations ranged from hushed to shouts. The air was charged with an electricity, one that made Peter smile. This would be a night to go down in fireside tales for hundreds of years. Rufio and Felix placed themselves close to Peter, the former leaning on his bat.

"What's the plan?" He asked, not really paying attention to the clamor around them.

Peter didn't even have to think about it. "We board, we kill, we conquer."

Felix nodded. "And Hook?"

"Save him for me, he took something very important of mine," Peter walked to the center of the camp, standing up in a log. Immediately the boys hushed. Peter grinned, he lived for this kind of reaction, for ones that acknowledged him as the supreme leader.

"The Pirates think they can take whatever they want," the boys hissed as Peter began to rile up the masses. "And we let them, as long as they abide by our rules." Shouts of agreement. "But when they take something of ours, something important to us, we declare war."

The boys shouted some more, only to be quieted by Peter's outstretched hand. "Calling it a war would be generous. No, it will be a massacre, one for the ages! One that will have its affects in all realms! Now boys, let's play!"

The Lost Boys erupted into chaos, letting loose a cry that could be heard throughout the entire island. Peter stood there, basking in the murderous rage he had given the boys. He knew this was a rage that could only be sated by bloodshed. And bloodshed they would have.

•••

Baelfire ran to the side of the boat as he heard the yelling of the Lost Boys. He couldn't see anything, but the cry was terrifying. He had spent enough nights hiding from them to know that this wasn't a celebration, this was a war cry. And he knew exactly who were going to be the unfortunate victims.

Glancing to the side, he checked on Nibs. The sack over their head had been traded for a blindfold, but in return their feet had been bound. That didn't stop the blond from trying to kick at anyone that passed by, even if that person was the Dark One.

Baelfire shook his head. Hook had something terrible planned for his father, but still the two had decided to band together to take out the biggest threat to the both of them. Apparently Rumple had gone to a Seer that had told him that Pan was to be the next Dark One. Bae snorted. Of course, his father want even concerned with seeing his son again, just to get rid of the next threat to his power. He glanced in disgust at his father and Hook, who were trying to come up with a battle plan that outdid the other's.

Another battle cry was shouted from the forest, closer this time. An answering cry came from the ship, to which Bae found that Nibs had loosened their gag and the piece of cloth was hanging limply around their neck. Three pirates rushed to shut them up, one going as far to punch the teen in the stomach. Nibs spit up blood, but still continued to answer the shouts, several teeth now a bright red.

"You're all going to die," they giggled and Bae was certain they'd nearly lost it. "Lost Boys take care of one another, and you picked the wrong one to mess with. Peter's going to gut you like the codfishes you are."

This was followed by more giggles and another punch to the stomach, when a pirate had finally gotten their gag back in place. Bae grimaced, but slowly made his way to the brig to commandeer some supplies. He needed to get out now, before the impending bloodbath.


	21. Chapter 21: Rage Brighter Than Fire

**AN: I'm back! And with the long awaited update! I hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter. And thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. If you have any criticisms or comments, just let me know! Happy reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 21: Rage Brighter Than Fire

Peter had noticed I was gone. My response to the war cry was something out of habit and I found myself sighing in relief. Once the rest of the boys showed up, we would gut the pirates and celebrate at the end of the day. Simple. Even as I received a punch to the gut, I was still hopeful. They'd all die. And I could hope that they would die horribly.

Rumple was on the ship. I despised him and the few snatches of the plan I could hear. I was to be bait for Peter, who would lead the Lost Boys straight to the Jolly Roger in a declaration of war. Rumple believed that combining his powers with the crew of the ship was enough to defeat us. Peter probably thought that he could obliterate all of the crew in ten minutes tops. I prayed they were both wrong.

Not being able to see is a giant setback. Of course I had better senses than most, being a hunter, but it was still disorienting to hear something and not be able to see in exactly what direction it was in. Also, it made trying to get my foot bindings loose extremely difficult. I had finally achieved it, the ropes still hanging loose around my feet. I couldn't speak, so that made my waiting period very boring. And where the hell was my dagger?

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait very long. A light thunk landed right next to me, followed by the sound of sawing through the ropes tying my hands to the railing. I broke free with a gasp, latching onto the person who had rescued me. I breathed deeply, smelling pine and campfire, with something like incense. Peter had come back for me. Together we stood up, and I removed my gag.

"Peter..." I breathed, but was pulled roughly against what I believed to be his chest. One arm was holding me to him and I assume the other was outstretched.

I heard growling and quickly removed my blindfold. First off, it was dark, which made my eyes adjust quicker. Next I saw that we were surrounded by pirates. How brilliant. Peter was holding a sword, the only thing keeping them at bay. It suspiciously looked like one of Hook's, but I kept my thoughts to myself. I teased Peter's dagger out of his belt, thankful to finally be armed again.

"You're done for," one of them, Starkey, sneered.

Peter laughed, one I could feel. "You might want to rethink that one." He raised his sowed in the air as I outstretched my hand with his dagger. "Boys!"

Lost Boys poured over the sides of the boat, each armed to the teeth and shouting. And despite being surrounded by bloodthirsty pirates, I felt myself smiling as all hell broke loose.

•••

Peter had been silent the entire way to the Jolly Roger. Aside from a few barked orders in the longboats, he had remained unnaturally quiet. This unnerved all of the boys, even Rufio didn't comment on this. Many were only communicating with odd glances, all too afraid to even cough. Good. It kept them on edge, something that needed to happen if they planned to survive the night. Peter didn't expect to lose a single boy that night.

They finally arrived at the pirate ship. Peter steadied the boys with an outstretched hand before landing lightly in the deck. Everyone seemed to be belowdecks, which was good for them. He was certain if he saw anyone, they would be little more than a pile of ashes.

His eyes finally rested on Nibs and he just about walked down to the mess hall and killed every living being on that cursed ship. They were tied to the ship, blindfolded, and gagged. Nibs looked... Helpless, which Peter immediately decided was not a good look for them. His Nibs was strong and the bravest Lost Boy on the island, the only one not afraid to tell him exactly what they thought. Seeing them like that only brought his mind to the conclusion that someone had to have done that to them and that person was going to die. Peter was going to destroy the pirate that dared to touch Nibs. His Nibs. His Queen.

Quickly he cut them loose, where they latched onto his shirt. Peter felt their form relax, as he pressed light kisses into their hair and held them close. Peter heard them sob and swore to obliterate anyone that made Nibs feel like this. For the first time in his life, he was afraid that they would crumble and never be the same.

The pair stood up, just as pirates came crashing onto the deck. Peter instinctively held Nibs closer, a sword materializing in his hand. Good old magic. The imbeciles began to circle them and he couldn't help but smile as Nibs took his dagger as a weapon.

One that looked particularly deplorable had rather courage to speak up. "You're done for."

He smirked. "You might want to rethink that one." He resided his sword in the air. "Boys!"

The Lost Boys poured on deck, each engaging a pirate. This bought enough time for Peter to run the deplorable pirate through, relishing the light leave the pirate's eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw Nibs jump up onto a pirate, wrap their thighs around his neck and then finally sink a dagger into his skull. That was more like it.

He didn't know how many pirates he killed, but they all went down with the same amount of malice and rage. Eventually he was back to back with Nibs and Felix, again surrounded by pirates. They just seemed to keep coming.

"I feel we've been here before," Nibs laughed.

Felix just snorted a laugh.

Peter rolled his eyes, disarming a pirate. "And it's your fault both times."

"Actually, I believe it was your hero complex both times," They laughed.

"Just get back to killing."

The two others laughed, and then moved away. Rufio and Nibs teamed up, sending each unfortunate soul to the grave. As Peter stabbed the last pirate, the Lost Boys stopped. Most were injured, but nothing that wouldn't heal. They had won. Peter took in this fact as he found himself panting.

A flash of green caught his eye. Felix and Rufio were grappling with Hook, something they had done thousands of times. Something was off. Rufio was slower, leaving gaps wide open and making sloppy mistakes. As if in slow motion, Peter watched Hook raise his sword and skewer Rufio through the side. Felix stood in shock for a moment before going after the Captain. The pirate twisted his sword, before pulling out the blood soaked blade and stabbed upwards into Rufio, killing the boy. Peter shrugged. Felix would take care of the Captain, he had to find Nibs.

"Peter!"

The aforementioned boy immediately turned on his heels. Nibs was being held hostage with a knife to their throat. When Peter turned to looks at the deplorable bastard who would endure his wrath, the immortal boy stopped, a cocky grin playing on his face. He could get through this, this was the one person in all the realms that he could bend to his wills most easily.

"Hello brother."


	22. Chapter 22: Despair as Black as Night

**AN: I'm back... About a month too late I know but, I am still back. Which is both great and not so great for you guys. Also Rumple is purposefully misgendering Nibs, simply because he's a Grade A asshat right now. Most likely because this is very newly Post-Belle!Rumple and he got his feeling crushed. Just remember: motive is not an excuse! And don't ever purposely misgender someone. Or Nibs will find you, kill you, and steal all your stuffed animals.**

 **Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. I love you all, seriously I love you all so much. Happy Reading!**

 **~Luna**

Chapter 22: Despair as Black as Night

Once again I was at the mercy of Rumple. Peter was at the foot of the stairs, body tensed to strike. I was hyperaware of everything. The sharp bite of the dagger, the stillness of every creature on Neverland, a small trickle of blood running down the side of my neck. Eyes trained on me. I couldn't move without fear of dying, no one else could move without a fear of inadvertently killing me. Even Hook, who was always good for a "let's gut Rumplestiltskin like a fish!" jaunt was down for the count, after being brained by Felix.

Rumple waved his free hand, causing the rigging to come to life and ensnare the boys. They were suspended above the deck, weapons clattering to the ground.

The entire ship seemed to hold a collective breath. The Lost Boys were as useless as a dull blade, Rufio was dead, and Peter appeared to have absolutely no plan, what so ever. I couldn't tell you which terrified me more.

"Comfortable dearie?" Rumple snarled.

"Go to hell," I spat.

"Ah-ah-ah. Word to the wise," he held the blade flat to my neck. "Never get cheeky to the man with the most power."

"Let them go Rumple, or I swear-" Peter began.

The crocodile harshly cut him off. "Or what? You're going to blast me with a little magic?"

"I'll kill Belle," I assumed that was someone close to Rumple, as I saw that knowing little smirk. I hoped he knew what the hell he was doing.

"Struck a nerve, have I?" Peter laughed. "You really thought you could keep your little girlfriend away from me? You should know better, Rumple. You can't keep secrets from your family."

With a dramatic sigh, Rumplestiltskin pushed me down the deck. I unceremoniously tumbled down the stairs. Even the intense pain couldn't distract me from my one thought: he was giving up too easily. He wanted to push us off our guard.

"If you must, you win," Rumple sighed again, pacing the upper deck.

Peter had pulled me up and at this statement, his hand clenched tighter around my back. "What's the catch? There's nothing free about your deals."

"And there's nothing fair about your games," he countered. "It's not much I ask in return. Something you were going to do anyway."

"Oh, I highly doubt that," Peter drawled.

"We'll see."

With a flick of Rumple's wrist, the dagger came flying towards us. Almost too fast to even see, I heard a sickening crunch of bones to find the hilt of the dagger buried into Peter's hand. Blood poured out every which way from the wound, staining anything in range a dark red. My side blossomed into pain as of someone had decided to light a bonfire in my veins. I risked a look down to find that the rest of the knife had sunk into my side.

"Peter..." I manage to say before my knees buckled under me.

•••

Peter caught Nibs just in time. The two had realized that they had taken the brunt of the injury at the same moment, but it was all he could to catch them as they fell to the floor.

Stop the bleeding, stop the fucking bleeding! Was Peter's thought process. Carefully he removed the dagger from their side and then once more with from his own hand. He hissed as the sensation of even more bones in his hand being broken hit him. Rumple was going to die. That was on top of Peter's list at that moment. Next would be torturing the bastard until the end of time.

Peter gritted his teeth, ripping off two pieces of his shirt. One for his hand, which he wrapped tightly. The other for Nibs' side. As he was laying the cloth down, a force propelled him backward, only to be pinned to the wall.

"You're going to give me her," Rumple said, peering down at the barely breathing Lost Boy. "And then you'll let me leave."

"Like hell," Peter spat, gathering up enough magic to throw a warning fireball.

Rumple giggled again. "See any other options, dearie? You and I both know you won't take her to the fountain. You're just not that powerful to save her yourself."

"And how exactly do you know that?" Peter broke free of his brother's magical hold, letting go hand burst into flame. The orange fire caused an unnatural glow in the boy's eyes, making him appear more monster than human.

Rumple giggled. "You won't trap her here, oh! As if the poor girl had any intentions of leaving anyways." Rumple smiled as he scanned Peter's face. "But your little hero complex would never let you. You aren't a hero, little brother. You're the villain."

Peter could see the blood pouring out of Nibs at an alarming rate. Soon they'd lose enough to completely pass out, and then a few minutes later they'd be dead. He didn't have a choice. And that might have scared him the most.

"Just- keep them safe."

Rumple grinned with delight, making all the Lost Boys disappear into a cloud of purple smoke. But before the boy could protest against the imp's malicious smile, the smoke was already engulfing him. Peter choked on the smoke, as if it was trying to invade every part of him.

He found himself lying on the dirt in the middle of camp. Surrounding him were the Lost Boys, minus two. The two he didn't want to lose, one he'd go to end of time for. As he got up, the other boys looked on in silence. All to scared to move. Felix couldn't even look at him in the eye. The rest were in various states of shock, looking to him for guidance.

"Treat the wounded," he ordered. When no one jumped to action, he scowled. "Or would you rather spend the night hanging by your toes? Get to work!"

The boys scrambled in all directions, some running into each other on their race to treat the wounded. It would have been comical if Peter hadn't just given up his one true love. The person he lived to see every morning. The person who kept him from doing even more heinous acts.

They were gone. Really, truly gone. He'd never hear their laugh, or see them run through the trees alongside, or even speak to them. Peter braced himself against a tree with this realization. Thousands of emotions and millions of thoughts ran through his head, each one darker and more destructive than the last. He found himself laughing at the irony of the situation. Here he could now have his reign of fear, his complete dominance over Neverland. All it cost him was the person he loved most. Who was also the person that kept him from establishing lasting terror.

He'd find them. He knew he would, villain or not. After all, Peter Pan never fails.


	23. Chapter 23: Going, Gone

**AN: Hello lovelies! New chapter is on the rise! And, despite my original plan to keep this story going on in one place, I'm going to start a new story about Nibs' adventures during season 3 of the show. I hope this isn't too bad, and that you all continue to read. The story will be called Take the Fight From the Kid, so be on the look out for that. There will be an epilogue which I hope to have up in a few days. Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed throughout this story. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and happy reading!**

Chapter 23: Going, Gone

 _Four Months Later_

The streets were barren, but Hook could feel the judgement from the darkened windows. Stumbling around drunk with a nearly empty bottle of rum was not the most moral of behaviors. But he was in mourning. Mourning his very idiotic and very dead crew, Baelfire (who had once again disappeared from the ship), and more importantly, his one shot at revenge of both the crocodile and the boy demon. One could hardly blame the man.

Killian barely made it out of that forsaken island alive. Somehow, he had managed with only one other live crew member. Pan had surprisingly let him leave, even sent the shadow to tail him. The deal was off, but the pirate would be granted eternal life as long as Pan lived. Killian didn't want to question the demon's decision. He knew that he had done something worse than usual, despite not remembering a thing from that night. No doubt the work of that forsaken Crocodile.

Whimpering. That was the one sound that made it through the pirate's addled brain. At first, he thought it might be someone's child, but a glance down an alley way discredited that thought.

Curled up in a ball was the lass- lad? Hook never really knew- from Neverland. The Lost Boy that was constantly by Pan's side, the one that caused all of the problems once he had stepped foot on the cursed island. The Lost Boy was brave, he'd give them- her?- that.

He intended to sound comforting, but apparently thoughts don't translate well when drunk. "Oi. Lass. You the demon's pet?"

The former Lost Boy just snarled up at him. "I am no one's pet."

They were skinnier than he remembered. Of course, none of those children were fed properly, but this one was almost on the verge of death. Still, they held fast onto the pearl-encrusted dagger, the very same one that had spilt the blood of many of his crew. Hook could have ended their life right there, but something made him pause.

"Do you remember me at all, lass?" He asked curiously. If the crocodile had done something to his memory, he could have done something to their's as well.

"I'm certain I'd remember a filthy pirate like you," They sneered. "It's hard to forget the stench, or the distraught look. Did your your crew mutiny you here?"

Even though their words were as nasty as ever, there was something gone from the lass' voice. The confidence was lacking and they could never quite look him in the eye. That cold blooded imp had done something with their memories as well.

Hook sighed, he felt he was going to regret this next decision very much. "Lass, do you... Are you in need of work?"

"I'm not a prostitute if that's what you're getting at." There was no mistaking that the child was still a Lost Boy, even if they didn't remember it.

"I have a ship," he managed to say. "In need of a cabin boy."

The ex-Lost Boy eyed Hook intensely before standing up in an agreement to follow. Now he could see the bones poking through their shirt, how sunken in their face was. Nearly all of the lean muscle that all of Neverland's inhabitants had was atrophied on them. It just didn't sit right with Killian.

Whatever, he'd have time to regret this during tomorrow's hangover. "I need a name for the books, lass. If you really are going to sign on."

They looked down as if they couldn't remember their own name. They stayed like that for a long while.

"Nessa Haven," they finally said. My name is Nessa Haven."

•••

The lass worked hard. Killian had to give them that. Their aversion to pirates seemed to be gone, as was any memory of Neverland and the boy demon. They were diligent, never fearing the climb up to the crows nest to untangle some rigging and always being the first to scale the ropes. Nessa even got along with Smee.

But there was still something empty about them. They rarely spoke and often looked at the stars. The only time they freely spoke was in their sleep. Other members of the crew had mentioned that the lass screamed about a demon with yellow eyes. The more Killian heard about their encounters, the more he realized that the Neverland he knew was nothing compared to Nessa's. They had seen things that he could only dream of, both horrible and fantastical. Sometimes he wondered if Pan had been trying to make the pirates leave for their own safety. It was not a pleasant thought.

The last he saw of the lass was a speck on the dick he had left, as the unmistakeable purple smoke of the curse drew closer. Killian wished he could say that he had a change of heart, turned around for his marooned crew and braved whatever the queen had in store for them. Unfortunately, he hadn't.


	24. Epilogue

**AN: This does happen to be the final installment of Meant to Live, but everything will be explained/finished in Take the Kid From the Fight, I promise. So be on the look out for that. Thank you to everyone who ever reviewed, favorited, or followed this story, it's been an amazing journey and I feel that I've become a better writer because of it. Thank you all so much and happy reading!**

Epilogue

 _They're not important._

 _You'll get another one._

 _There are plenty more Lost Boys. What is the loss of one?_

"Stop it!" Pan screamed, shielding himself from the shadow's doubting voices. The nagging was constant now and he lost more memories as the shadow increased it's hold.

Already the first ten years of his life- his actual life, before he achieved near immortality- were fading. He couldn't remember how Milah's voice sounded, or even how big their farm was. But the night that his father left him with Rumple and then the night Rumple left him were clear as day. The pain hadn't dulled much, but did vanish as soon as he thought of Nibs. Thoughts of them calmed the boy, as if the Lost Boy was a vital part of his personality.

30 years. He hadn't heard from them in thirty long years. He had spent all that time knowing they were in the company of pirates and his scaly Crocodile of a brother to boot. Anyone that had a hand in hiding them from his shadow and his sight would have hell to pay. And hell hath no fury like a child scorned. Ruthlessness and heartlessness would just aid him in his task of regaining his special Lost Boy.

After all, Peter thought to himself. What are children but heartless beings?


End file.
